NH Sports Betting Bill Would Allow Live Wagers At Retail Sportsbooks

• A New Hampshire sports betting bill will go to the floor during the 2021 session to allow for more sports betting locations and live in-game bets at retail facilities.
• Representative Tim Lang, the sponsor of House Bill 330, believes he has a shot at getting live in-game wagers but adding more retail sportsbooks may prove to be a hard sell.

CONCORD, N.H. – New Hampshire has live in-game sports betting for their mobile and online platforms but land-based sportsbooks are prohibited from offering this type of wager. This is where House Bill 330 comes into play for the 2021 New Hampshire General Court session.

Representative Tim Lang has filed the one-page bill that would amend the current law in the state to allow for live in-game sports betting  to take place at retail sports wagering venues.

House Bill 330 also asks for a cap of ten sports betting establishments to allow for more land-based operators in the state as there are only two operating at this time.

What Would This Bill Do For New Hampshire Sports Betting?

While the number of locations is one issue, the argument that seems hard to dispute is the fact that gamblers can still bet on the games live while inside a sportsbook as long as they have a mobile sports betting account.

They can place any other type of wager at the establishment but can use their app at the location to bet on the live-wager end of the games.

This is not the first time that Lang has pitched this idea to the New Hampshire General Court, however, he believes this time his bill will see a more favorable outcome.

Prior to 2021, the majority of the NH legislature was Democrat but this has since shifted and Republicans now have the majority of seats. Democrats were strongly opposed to allowing land-based sportsbooks to offer this type of wager. They believed that opening the door to more locations would lead to a surge in gambling throughout the state and increase problem gambling.

What’s Next

Lang has no intention to saturate the market with sports betting venues but believes that legal sports wagering in New Hampshire could be more lucrative with these two minor amendments.

This would give the industry the opportunity to expand and as they expand the potential for profits to the economy will expand along with it. Currently, DraftKings has a monopoly on the New Hampshire sports betting market, operating both ends of the spectrum for the state’s retail and mobile sportsbooks.

The 2021 New Hampshire legislative session convened on January 6. NH HB 330 is expected to be presented to the Ways and Means Committee first in its path toward legalization. The session adjourns on June 30.

If the bill receives passage, it will be enacted into law 60 days after becoming officially approved.

News tags: DraftKings | House Bill 330 | New Hampshire | New Hampshire General Court | NH HB 330 | Tim Lang | Ways and Means Committee