Online Casino Gambling Banished in New Hampshire Until at Least 2025

Amazingly, more than 41 states have yet to legalize online casino gambling. It starkly contrasts the three dozen or so states that have passed sports betting legislation with a handful of states ready to join the list. At some point, one has to wonder why it's so difficult to get online casino gambling legislation passed.

The leading reason given is conflict with the gambling rights given to Indian Tribes throughout the nation. Those rights were cemented with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, a federal law that gave Tribal concerns a distinct advantage in terms of offering retail casino gambling access. In states where Indian compacts have further made those rights exclusive, it has become near impossible to get online casino gambling legislation on the floor let alone get something passed.

In New Hamshire, it looked like the light was shining brightly for the passage of online gambling registration at some point in 2024. In an instant, that changed. Let's take a look at what happened.

So Close Yet So Far Away

For several years, New Hampshire Sen. Tim Lang has been pushing to get online casino gambling through the Senate. He presented his first bill in 2023, only to watch it initially fail by a single vote. In an amazing turn of events, Senate President Jeb Bradley changed his vote, flipped the final tally, and the bill passed by a single vote. On to the House of Representatives.

Even with a promise that much of the tax revenue would go to community college scholarships, the House Ways and Means Committee crushed any chance that the bill would get to the House floor. What really shocked concerned parties was the Committee invoked a clause that banned any similar bill from being presented in 2024.

The conflict apparently arose out of the New Hampshire Charitable Gaming Operators Association. The members expressed concerns over how passing such legislation would affect the state's retail casino gambling operation. That was enough to banish such legislation now and into the future. If Lang would so choose, he could try to rework the language or come up with another bill, but time was running short.

In an interview with PlayUSA Online, Lang stated:

“Due to the New Hampshire House using a procedural motion called ‘indefinite postponement,’ I am barred from bringing the topic back up in 2024. While this is a setback, I will endeavor to bring the bill forward again in 2025.”

Lang Not Ready to Wave the White Flag

While this is certainly a setback, the idea New Hampshire might someday pass online casino legislation is not dead. Lang has indicated he will do whatever he can to keep going so that something more amicable can be introduced in 2025.

He plans to be intimately involved with the Gaming Study Commission in 2024. He will help direct the committee to keep reviewing the state's laws and regulations until he can find an angle that will help him break the ice. It will take time, but time he has.