The recent bill HB 83 failed after losing the committee vote 11-7. The bill was designed to raise the sports betting age in New Hampshire from 18 to 21.

New Hampshire is one of the four US states that allows individuals to place bets on sports from the age of 18 years old. However, bill HB 83 was proposed to raise this betting age to match the age in the rest of the country, with players needing to be at least 21 years of age in order to engage in sports betting.

The History of Sports Betting

The history of sports betting in New Hampshire is short and relatively complex. In 2019, Hampshire became the 16th state to legalise sports betting. This came after the collapse of PASPA, or the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which was an active law from 1992 until its fall in 2018.

This law prohibited sports betting throughout the United States, with only a few states excluded. The law was overturned on account of clashing with the Tenth Amendment. Now, thanks to the repeal of this law and the collapse of HB 83, wagers in the Granite State of 18 years or older can place bets on games and esports. Boston-based company DraftKings is the sole provider of sports betting services in New Hampshire on behalf of the New Hampshire Lottery.

Legal Complexities of iGaming

However, there’s a range of online slots and casino sites available to locals. Those offering real money payouts are available through offshore sites since the state does not have any specific legislation regulating online casinos. While these sites offer a range of benefits like instant payouts and player bonuses that attract locals in large numbers, the lack of local options has always been a sore spot for gambling enthusiasts.

With sports betting the only option, the proposed bill now threatens to make it more complicated by increasing the age limit. However, the New Hampshire House Ways and Means Committee discussed the bill but ultimately declined to move it further. It was eventually voted against by an emphatic 11-7. Members of the House described the bill as being “inexpedient to legislate”. What this means is that the bill would have been impractical and difficult to enforce. For this reason, the committee voted to keep the legal age for sports betting at its original 18 years.

The motivations for this bill were plainly stated by members of the state’s House of Representatives and Senate. The reason provided to motivate the higher age limit of these activities should be held to the same standard as other “vice” activities in the state.

Rep. Thomas Schamberg argues that it is important for age limits to be imposed on sports betting, the same way that the state has felt responsible to impose age limits on products like alcohol, tobacco products, vapes, and other such vices.

While he believes that a higher age for wagers encourages responsible gambling, Rep Susan Elberger argued that the agreement for a lower age limit on sports betting should mean that other vices in the state should have their age limits revised to be more in line with this policy.

Even though some representatives agreed with the bill, others found the bill to be shaky in its foundation. Representative Cyril Aures debates that raising the age limit on sports betting from 18 to 21 infringes on the personal liberties of state residents. Aures argued that young people deserve the same liberties as older people. Raising the betting age means that young people cannot make free financial choices the same way their counterparts over 21 can.

Tax Implications

Another major drawback to increasing the sports betting age in New Hampshire from 18 to 21 is the effect on tax revenues in the Granite State. According to the bill, which had a financial statement for the year 2024 attached, sports betting is very profitable. Not including other forms of gambling, sports betting alone contributed $33 million in revenue during the fiscal year. Wagers under the age of 21 did their fair share in contributing to this revenue, making up 1.9% of the gross gambling revenue.

The loss of a player under the age of 21 would have a knock-on effect in the industry. If HB 83 were passed in 2025, the loss of revenue in 2026 was projected to be in the neighbourhood of $320,000. This number was projected to double in 2027 to $640,000 and to remain at this rate for the following years.

This revenue is welcomed by New Hampshire, as the Granite State does not have a general sales tax on goods purchased within state lines. New Hampshire does, however, generate revenue through a number of other taxes and levies. The state’s General, Education, and Highway funds produce revenue in the billions each year. However, the biggest contributor to New Hampshire tax revenue is generated in business profit tax, or BPT. This is a tax of 7.6% that is placed on businesses within state lines.

Because the passing of HB 83 failed, New Hampshire gets to remain in the ranks of US states with laws permitting individuals aged 18 years to place sports bets within the state. There are four districts in total that hold this title, including Kentucky, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C.

Besides HB 83, New Hampshire has made other moves to regulate gambling in the state, and even potentially funnel the industry’s profits into forces for good. In January 2025, SB 168 was introduced. What the bill proposed was that the New Hampshire Lottery would create a new department. Its purpose would be to regulate iGaming, specifically new operators and how they could conduct business in the state.

The New Hampshire Lottery would license a number of casinos and extract a whopping 45% in gross taxes. These taxes would then be split, with half going to the state’s General Fund, and the rest being divided between good causes. A quarter of this revenue was proposed to go to the Special Education Fund, and another quarter was proposed to go to the vulnerable groups of the elderly, blind, and deaf.

No Competition for Now

At the moment, DraftKings has a monopoly on gambling in the Granite State. However, this bill would have allowed for healthy competition. Other competitors would have been able to enter the gambling arena in New Hampshire while receiving fair taxation that goes to the common good of the state. Sadly, the bill was dropped and is no longer being pushed in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Even though SB 168 was unsuccessful, another bill arose in April of 2025 that could potentially change the tide for online gambling in the state. This bill addresses the concern that HB 83 also faced, being that legislation could potentially infringe on the liberties of individuals in New Hampshire. The bill aims to put the power to decide on gambling legislation in the hands of local communities. The bill would allow members of communities to individually vote on gambling laws that affect their areas. Currently, the power to make these decisions lies with the state. This bill could revolutionize gambling in New Hampshire, and it has already shown some success. It is currently undergoing amendments, but it is 75% of the way through the process at the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Further Legislation

Further legislation to take into consideration is bills HB 247 and SB 83. HB 247 is an opt-in bill that focuses on historical horse racing (HHR) machines and aims to curb the implementation of new licenses for these devices, unless a community opts in to allow for these licenses to be doled out. SB 83, on the other hand, aims to do away with historical horse racing machines altogether and to replace them with traditional slot machines, which up until now have been illegal in the state. SB 83 has a particularly strong financial draw and could raise HHR’s revenue of $361 million annually to approximately $471 million annually.

Even though there have been a number of changes to gambling legislation in the state, there are also some mainstays in the industry. The New Hampshire lottery is a sweepstakes operation that has been run since 1964. Included in this are the Lucky for Life, Mega Millions, and Powerball, as well as a number of scratch tickets for sale with local vendors. New Hampshire is also a part of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which is based in Iowa.

New Hampshire has also joined forces with Vermont and Maine to host the Tri-State Lottery, which was established in 1985. Parimutuel wagering, like horse racing and dog racing, is also legal in the state of New Hampshire. However, there are no active facilities in the state, with the last tracks closing in 2009.

Conclusion

Things are changing in the state of New Hampshire. Many new legislative moves are being made to regulate gambling in the state, with the latest move being the dropping of HB 83, a bill that would raise the wagering age on sports betting in the state from 18 to 21. The state’s dedication to the protection of individual liberties has meant that the state shows potential to legislate beneficial systems that allow for gambling to be practiced responsibly in the state.