New Hampshire launched legalized sports betting at the end of 2019 – beginning with a ‘ceremonial’ wager on the New England Patriots by Governor Chris Sununo.
With no actual casinos within the state, New Hampshire opted to launch legalized sports betting without any retail locations; instead going with a full mobile-only platform that was ran exclusively by one operator: DraftKings Sportsbook. It was in the process of adding retail locations in New Hampshire bars by summer 2020.
Its first full month, January 2019, saw New Hampshire bring in more handle via mobile ($17.3 million) than nearby Rhode Island did in total handle during its first full month in November 2019. With plans to add some sports betting games to their lottery via Intralot, as well as plans to implement retail sports betting locations later in the season, New Hampshire seems primed to make a big splash in the sports betting world.
Is sports betting legal in New Hampshire?
Yes. Gov. Chris Sununu signed bill H480 into law in July 2019, and the first legal bet was placed on December 30. New Hampshire became the 14th state to offer legalize sports betting.
Where can I bet at New Hampshire sportsbooks?
New Hampshire does not have any casinos, so rather than finding suitable retail alternatives the state chose to launch sports betting as a full mobile program only.
The new law stated that New Hampshire could have up to five online/mobile operators and 10 retail locations, but DraftKings made a proposal that the state could not refuse.
The Boston-headquartered sportsbook offered to pay 51 percent of their sports betting revenue to the state if they were the sole online operator, with that number dropping to 21 percent if there are two or three operators and further declining to 16 percent if there are four or five authorized brands. Combined with a flat 40 per cent tax rate on retail sports betting, regardless of other licensed locations, they made a proposal that no other competitor could match, which lead to New Hampshire opting to launch with DraftKings as the exclusive online sports betting operator in the state.
There is discussions to add licensed retail sales in the coming months, with six cities already approved for hosting retail locations, but it seems DraftKings will be the sole online operator for the foreseeable future.
What about mobile sports betting apps in New Hampshire?
The only app you can use in New Hampshire to place sports bets is through DraftKings. The good news, however, is that you can register (and use) the app anywhere in the state. Even if you’re a resident of another state, once you cross the New Hampshire border, you are legally permitted to use the DraftKings app to place sports bets (which is easily tracked through cell phones’ geolocation technology).
As for DFS play, DraftKings does not have a monopoly on that domain, as all the major brands are available to use within New Hampshire borders.