New Hampshire online casino bill introduced

A bill has been introduced in the New Hampshire Senate to legalize online casino gaming in the state.

Senate Bill 168 was introduced by Senator Tim Lang with support from three other Republican senators. Lang previously led the legislation that legalized online and in-person sports betting in New Hampshire.

If Bill 168 were passed it would legalize online casino slot games and interactive table games for anyone in the state aged 18 or older. New Hampshire would be the only state that allows online gambling for people 18 or older, as all other states that have legalized online gambling limit it to people 21 years of age or older.

However, a bill has also been introduced in New Hampshire this year to raise the legal gambling age in the state to 21.

Bill 168 instructs the New Hampshire Lottery to field bids for online casino gaming licenses. A minimum of three licenses would need to be issued for online casino gaming to launch, and it would be capped at six. To apply for a license online gaming operators would be required to partner with a brick-and-mortar charitable casino that offer historical horse racing machines and/or live dealer tables games.

Traditional slot machines remain prohibited at brick-and-mortar casinos in New Hampshire and this bill would not change that.

Under the bill gross gaming revenue generated by online casinos would be taxed at 45 percent. Fifty percent of tax money will be directed to the state’s general fund, and the other 50 percent would go to a special fund for the elderly, disabled, blind and deaf, and to support special education.

The bill has been sent to the New Hampshire Senate Ways and Means Committee for review. New Hampshire is one of several states that have begun the new year by introducing online gambling bills. Other states with bill under consideration include Maryland, Indiana, Wyoming, New York, Massachusetts, and Hawaii.