NH Officially Issues RFP For Sports Betting Vendors

• Sports betting in New Hampshire was signed into law by NH Governor Chris Sununu on July 12, 2019.
• The New Hampshire sports betting bill that was signed into law did not address a definitive tax rate or licensing fee for sports gambling vendors.
• The state lottery will be in charge of both operating and regulating the NH sports betting industry.

CONCORD, N.H. – It’s been just a matter of weeks since sports betting in New Hampshire was signed into law and the state Lottery is now gearing up to narrow down it’s vendor selection process.

The New Hampshire Lottery, which was assigned to be the operating and regulatory agency over sports wagering in the state, publicly posted its request for proposal (RFP) for potential sportsbook partnerships earlier this week.

“We’re going to want [partners] that have the most appeal to the consumers,” said Charlie Mclntyre, executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery in an interview with Sports Handle.

“We have an existing database of players, I think we tend to have a little more sophisticated consumer, we’re going to be actively engaged in the business.”

The bill originally came with a bit of vague language when it came to this process. NH HB 480 will only allow a maximum of 10 retail sportsbook locations in the state and up to five state-wide online sports wagering apps.

Legalsportsbetting got a chance to speak with bill sponsor, Rep. Timothy Lang, before the bill was signed into law to get a clearer picture of where the retail sportsbooks in NH may be located.

“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.

However, language in the bill also allows cities and towns to vote on weather or not they want a land-based sportsbook within their local borders.

Because of this, it may be that statewide mobile sports wagering apps in New Hampshire may be the first to launch.

This may also prove to be difficult because NH HB 480 did not come with a set tax rate or licensing fee for sports betting vendors. Instead, the bill states that “any such contract shall be based on the state receiving a percentage of revenue.”

Many expect that company’s such as DraftKings, FanDuel, William Hill, etc. who have experience in offering legal sports betting, will likely pursue to sign contracts with the New Hampshire lottery. But, where they may be able to operate and how much they will have to pay may not be the same.

Companies that wish to become sports betting vendors will have to negotiate with the NH lottery this upcoming fall to see where they stand on these factors. The RFP inquiry period will end on August 26, 2019 and an estimated date of approval for a final contract is slated at November 20, 2019.

News tags: Charlie Mclntyre | DraftKings | FanDuel | New Hampshire | New Hampshire Lottery | NH HB 480 | Timothy Lang | William Hill