The wave of legalized sports betting in the US continues as New Hampshire has become the latest state to legalize sports betting. With nine states currently having active sports betting operations and more to follow, it is hard to deny that legalized sports betting is changing the face of the US gambling market.
New Hampshire legislators had given their approval to HB 480 and Gov. Chris Sununu signed it into existence over the weekend. This new bill will allow for sports betting to take place at retail locations as well as online. Online bets need to be placed bettors who are physically located in the state. As for where the physical sports betting locations will be, it will be decided by after a public vote takes place.
The law limits the number of sports betting establishments in the state to ten while only five online operators will be licensed. The limits were set by the New Hampshire Lottery Commission. The organization will also be in charge of legal sports betting in the state.
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One of the main reasons for the push for sports betting is the potential revenue. Estimates put the potential revenue at $225 million for the fiscal 2021. Based on the current five percent tax rate for gambling, the state will be getting approximately $11.25 million from the sports betting market.
In a statement, Sununu said
With the exciting new addition of sports betting, the New Hampshire Lottery will continue to drive critical revenue, putting even more money into our educational system. Today’s action will provide financial support and important resources to help our public education system, which will benefit every child in every school across the state—a win for New Hampshire.
The number of US states that have legalized sports betting now stands at seventeen but only nine currently have active operations. The states that have are taking sports bets are Arkansas, Mississippi, Delaware, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.
The remaining states that have legalized sports betting but do not have operations up and running as of now include New Hampshire, are Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Iowa, New York, Oregon, Washington D.C. and Tennessee. There are eight states debating legalized sports betting laws at the moment.
New Hampshire has already started the process to get operations up and running as the gaming regulator has already sent out requests for proposals from potential operators.
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