New Hampshire legislature okays mobile, retail sports betting

New Hampshire’s sports bettors are but a governor’s signature away from joining the burgeoning ranks of US states with legal wagering markets.

On Thursday, the New Hampshire House of Representatives approved HB480, which will allow the state to offer both land-based and mobile wagering for the first time. The bill was originally approved by the House in March but was tweaked by the state Senate in May, requiring the House to concur with the Senate’s changes.

Concur they did, and now the onus is on Gov. Chris Sununu to sign the bill into law. Sununu has already indicated his support for using some of that sweet, sweet betting cash to plug holes in the state budget, so he’s expected to sign HB480 into law sometime next month.

Once Sununu signs on the dotted line, the New Hampshire Lottery Commission (NHLC), which oversees gambling in the casino-free state, will establish a Division of Sports Wagering to oversee betting activity. The NHLC will then select a maximum of five mobile and up to 10 retail betting operators, with the expectation that legal wagering will be up and running by early 2020.