NH House Concurs With Senate Amendments, Clear Path For HB 480 To Reach Gov’s Desk

NH HB 480 will now be sent to the Enrolled Bills Committee to be reviewed before being sent to Governor.
NH Governor Chris Sununu previously included sports betting as part of the state’s 2019 fiscal budget address.
Sports betting in New Hampshire will be legal for both professional and collegiate games.

CONCORD, N.H. – New Hampshire sports betting bill, NH HB 480, cleared its final legislative hurdle on Thursday. House representatives concurred with the amendments made to the bill while in the state Senate, leaving only a few more minor steps to go before it ultimately reaches the governor’s desk.

NH HB 480 will now go to the Enrolled Bills Committee where it will be checked for any typographical errors.

LegalSportsBetting caught up with the bill’s author, Rep. Timothy Lang, to get a more accurate picture of what final processes are in store for his piece of legislation.

“I anticipate that it’ll roll right through the Enrolled Bills Committee within a day, and go straight to the speaker; and then the speaker will have to give it to the Secretary of the State. I just don’t know how long the speaker is going to sit on it,” he said.

“The reality is, absent of any politics or manipulation, probably within two to three weeks it’ll be sitting on the governor’s desk.”

Once that happens, NH Governor Chris Sununu will have ten days to give his signature of approval. Many expect that will be the case given the fact that sports betting was included in Governor Sununu’s 2019 Budget Address.

In the budget address, Gov. Sununu estimated that $10 million in annual revenue would be collected by the state at the start of the 2021 fiscal year. NH HB 480 will allow for both retail sportsbooks and state-wide mobile sports betting apps in New Hampshire.

What Exactly Is In The NH Sports Betting Bill?

With the passing of the bill, the New Hampshire Lottery Commission will now be in charge of regulating and overseeing the new industry.

The Commission will only allow those 18 and older to participate in NH sports betting. They will also prohibit any wagering that is placed on a collegiate team from New Hampshire or any collegiate match that takes place within the state.

Retail sportsbooks will be operated in places that already have a license to sell lottery products. The number of retail sportsbooks in NH will be capped at 10.

Specific locations for where these sports betting parlors might launch is still a bit unclear.

“I think they’ll just split it out so that every county at least gets one, geographically disperse them across the entire state, so that they are not all clustered in one area,” said Lang.

The locations of these retail sports betting sites were made in one of the amendments added on by the state Senate.

However, the wording of the amendments stated that the lottery commission would only select businesses “whose bids provide the state with the highest percentage of revenue from the sports wagering activities.”

As far as mobile sports betting in NH goes, online operators will be capped at a total of five in the state. Mobile sports wagering apps will be available state-wide and operators will first have to be approved by the lottery commission before they can launch their platforms.

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Hasan Nabulsi

– In his career, Hasan has worked both local and state government positions—including the Attorney General’s Office in Florida. On top of being familiar with the legislative process, he has also been researching and writing on the legality of sports betting across the US. Outside of work you’ll most likely find him producing or playing music, playing sports, or working on creative writing projects. You’ll also catch him at Doak Campbell Stadium cheering on the Noles.