New Hampshire is working towards the legalization of sports betting. Current betting options include charitable gaming, which is a popular form of fundraising for local organizations. Similarly, bingo halls and casino nights are becoming increasingly common across the state. There are even a couple of charitable casinos in the state that are open to the public. Currently, residents have a few options for legal online betting including horse racing and wagering. There is a good chance for sports betting to be legalized in the near future, as Governor Chris Sununu and the Senate seem to be lobbying for New Hampshire sports betting bills to be passed.

Gambling Laws in New Hampshire

New Hampshire’s gambling laws permit charity games, bingo halls and casino nights at the moment, something we discussed in greater detail on our dedicated New Hampshire gambling page.There are even a couple of charitable casinos in the state that are open to the public where you can visit and play real money poker and other table games just like you would at a normal casino. Recently in September 2018, New Hampshire launched online state lottery with instant win games and tickets to major drawings. In addition, the state law allows both dog racing and horse racing, as well as on-track pari-mutuel wagering (in which bets are placed together in a pool). Gambling on gas station premises and/or wagering on games or sports are both currently illegal.

Most Popular Sports in New Hampshire

New Hampshire is known for its love for sports. Home to both major and minor league professional sports, the state takes pride in its range of sports activities. Some of the common sports include baseball, soccer and basketball. New Hampshire is also known for its speed motor racing. The state is home to both New England’s only stop on the NASCAR Monster Energy circuit, and the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Most popular and state favorite teams consist of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Manchester Monarchs, the ECHL affiliate of the LA Kings. Some other recreational sports option include Indoor skydiving, skiing, snowboarding, golf and snow-shoeing!

Minor League Baseball – New Hampshire Fisher Cats

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. They have made their mark at the Eastern League Championship, having win the championship in 2004, 2011 and 2018. The team is well known for its loyal fan base and community involvement. It is often said that even though it may be baseball’s power brokers that brought the franchise to New Hampshire, it was the local residents, community leaders and businesses that embraced the organization as its own. The team’s community loyalty is marked by the record attendance that they gain. New attendance records were set every year between 2007 – when the franchise welcomed its 1,000,000th fan – and 2010, when the 2,000,000th came through the turnstiles. The 2010 season was especially memorable; nearly 400,000 fans witnessed a Fisher Cats game, which included 14 standing room-only crowds and was recorded as the highest monthly attendance total – 110,825 in August – to date.

National Football League – New Hampshire Wildcats

The New Hampshire Wildcats football team is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of New Hampshire. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Colonial Athletic Association. Notable former players and alumni include Jason Ball, Jerry Azumah, Dwayne Gordon and Chad Lackert. They are notoriously known for their team rivalry with Maine. An annual rivalry game is played between the Wildcats and the University of Maine Black Bears where in the winner of this game gets the right to hang the Brice-Cowell Musket up in their locker room for the year following this game. The Wildcats and the Bears have met 106 times on the football field during the regular season, with New Hampshire currently sitting at 54–44–8 edge in the series.

National Hockey League – The Manchester Monarchs

The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, and affiliated with the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings, the team played its home games at the SNHU Arena. The Monarchs replaced the American Hockey League team of the same name, which played from 2001 until 2015, after which they moved to Ontario, California, and became the Ontario Reign. Subsequently in a “franchise swap”, in 2015, the Ontario Reign franchise moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, to become the Manchester Monarchs. The Monarchs won their only Calder Cup in their final AHL season

Independent Women’s Football League – Manchester Freedom

The Manchester Freedom is a football team in the Independent Women’s Football League based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team was founded in 2001 and is currently headed by Coach Jim Gallatto. The team plays its home games at the West Memorial Field on the campus of Manchester High School West. They are the first women’s tackle football team at New Hampshire. Their most recent victory was in the 2018 season against the Maine rebels.

History of Sports Betting in New Hampshire

New Hampshire is notable from a gambling history perspective. Pari-mutuel betting was the first major type of gambling to be legalized back in 1933, covering greyhound and horse racing bets. New Hampshire was interestingly the first State to legalize a lottery in the modern format (1800’s lotteries were actually raffles) in 1963. In 1964, state lottery was permitted and this raised a lot of money for education within the state. In 1971, Greyhound racing was legalized. In 2014, several legislative bills were submitted to the State legislature to change existing charity gambling laws, though none made it as far as the Statutes.

Legal Online Sports Betting Age in New Hampshire

The minimum New Hampshire gambling age is 18 years for lottery and bingo, 21 years for racing and poker. In mid-2017, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed a large piece of omnibus legislation that included authorization for the sale of online lottery tickets. The legislation allows customers age 18 or older located in New Hampshire to visit the lottery website to purchase tickets online. New Hampshire does not permit online sports betting in any form at present.

• Sports Betting Age
  Legal gambling ages are set at a minimum of 18 years of age for lottery and bingo, 21 years of age for racing and poker and, 18 years of age for online lottery tickets.
• Alcohol Age
  The legal drinking age is 21 in New Hampshire.
• Weed Age
  The legal age for indulgence of Marijuana is 21 years of age with restrictions on possession and consumption.

Is Online Sports Betting Legal Outside of the State?

Since there are no provisions within the New Hampshire state gambling laws or US federal sports betting laws that prohibit residents from betting on sports online through legally sanctioned offshore sportsbooks, we’d have to say that yes, online sports betting at offshore sportsbooks is a legal form of betting entertainment for individuals in the state. We do offer a word of caution regarding which sportsbooks you consider betting at. We recommend that you remain highly selective in your choices, restricting your betting action to only those destinations that are legitimately licensed and regulated through a respected governing jurisdiction. Take a look at what the neighboring states have in stock like with Vermont Sports Betting.

Taxes on Your Winnings: Do You Have to Pay Anything?

A 10% tax rate is enacted upon gambling winnings.

Upcoming Changes in New Hampshire Sports Betting Law

New Hampshire is making a push to authorize legal sports betting in 2019 through House Bill 480 which proposed to authorize full scale sports betting. The bill cleared its first committee stop with ease (17-2) and it is said to have the backing of the state’s chief executive, too. In addition, Governor Chris Sununu has included $10 million of associated revenue in his proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year associated to legalization of sports betting in New Hampshire. Externally, regional pressure is creating a sense of urgency in the minds of some New Hampshire lawmakers. All in all, there is reason to believe that legalization of sports betting will soon be on its way!

Sports Betting Guides for Nearby States

• Vermont
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• New York