New Hampshire has decided to take a closer look at expanding land-based casino gambling, having hired a consultancy, WhiteSand Gaming, to look into what changes will be necessary in the state to make building resort casinos a reality.
A panel appointed by the state for the purpose of developing regulations for gaming said this week that with the help of consultants from WhiteSand, a December 15 deadline to produce draft regulations is a viable date, according to Seacoastonline.com.
The panel said that it planned to look to other states as models on how to oversee their would-be casino industry.
State needs funds for infrastructure
New Hampshire, a state that charges its residents neither sales tax nor personal income tax, sees the introduction of casinos as a means of raising funds for education and transportation infrastructure, in addition to other projects. The state's governor, Maggie Hassan, is pro-gambling.
Democratic State Representative Richard Ames said this week that after meeting with the consultants, he felt optimistic that New Hampshire could benefit from introducing casino gambling to the state, remarking, "We'll search for best practices, sorting through whatever everybody has done. Best practices means what it always means here: Best practices for New Hampshire."
Ames agreed that the draft date of December 15 seems doable.
"I think it’s workable. I think we have a very good consultant and we have a very good membership on our authority that is dedicated to getting the job done," he said.
State has also looked into possibility of iGaming
In addition to its land-based casino ambitions, the state of New Hampshire has also been one that frequently arises when the topic of online gambling regulation comes up, as over the past few years the state has flirted with the idea of offering access to Internet-based wagering as it also investigates the possibility of brick-and-mortar development.
Though New Hampshire is not populous - it numbers only about 1.32 million people, making it the nation's 42nd most populous state - the reality is that New England is, at the moment, engaged in a fierce gambling expansion race. Thus, should New Hampshire regulators decide to give the thumbs up to online betting, it could serve to set off a chain reaction as other states in the region attempt to keep step with their neighbors.
Competition for casino revenue in Eastern states is particularly fierce
Already we are seeing Connecticut and Rhode Island worry about casino proliferation in Massachusetts, who now must also look to possible competition from New Hampshire, should legislators make a move toward expanding gambling there.
"We were just preparing ourselves for Massachusetts. There would have been no reason for people to come to Rhode Island," said Gerald Aubin, who directs the Rhode Island Lottery, noting that the state had recently approved table gaming as it readies itself for the opening of four new resort-style casinos and one slots only parlor in neighboring Massachusetts.
A similar story is playing out in Pennsylvania as it competes with New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware, and on and on in what sometimes seems like an endless cycle of casino one-upmanship as states across the nation look to casinos as a way to inject sorely needed revenue into depleted budgets.
