It's Official - Sports Betting Approved in New Hampshire

In the US, more states are starting to fall in line with the move to allow its residents to legally wager on sports. The latest state to take the plunge is New Hampshire. It was just announced that Governor Chris Sununu has signed into law the bill H480. The bill will allow residents to bet on professional and college sports as soon as operators are in place to start taking bets. There are high hopes this will all take place in August of next year, before the start of the 2020 NFL football .

Under the provision of the new bill, residents will not be allowed to wager on games that include teams located within the state's borders. Since there are no professional sports in New Hampshire, the new law will only have an effect on college teams from sports like football, hockey, basketball and soccer.

At this point, the new bill allows for 15 licenses for operators. That include 5 available to retailer operators and the remaining 10 being made available for online sports betting operators. Unlike other states including New York, New Hampshire legislators felt it was important to include provisions for online sports betting in the bill. Based on online betting revenue reports coming out of New Jersey, there's a clear indication that this is what sports bettors want.

While the New Hampshire Lottery Commission will initially oversee the licensing and regulation of sports betting for the state, legislators have authorized the formation of the ‘Division of Sports Wagering’ to take over those responsibilities as soon as possible. When in place, that division will report directly to the New Hampshire Lottery Commission.

New Hampshire now joins 13 other states that have already passed the required sports betting legislation. As of today, there a six states already accepting wagers. That group includes Nevada, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, New Jersey and Oregon. Waiting in the wings are at least three other states that hope to be taking sorts wagers before the start of the 2019 NFL football season.

As the US sports betting industry continues gaining momentum, it will be interesting to see which states will be next in line to approve sports betting. Experts are currently estimating that as many as 25 states could pass the required sports betting legislation by the end of the year.