Voters from nine cities in New Hampshire will have the opportunity to vote on whether to permit retail sportsbooks to operate in their communities at the state’s municipal elections on November 5.
The nine cities that have been put forward as potential locations for retail wagering are the cities of Berlin, Claremont, Concord, Dover, Laconia, Manchester, Nashua, Rochester and Somersworth.
Executive director Charlie McIntyre said the New Hampshire Lottery had been working with city leaders and residents to ensure they have all necessary information on the implementation of the state’s sports betting regulations.
“We are pleased to see this response from cities across the state interested in putting this sports betting question before voters,” McIntyre said. “We look forward to continuing to be a resource for community leaders as we launch a successful and responsible sports betting system in New Hampshire.”
It comes after Governor Chris Sununu signed legislation into law in July, authorizing the lottery to conduct legal wagering. This allows up to five mobile sports betting operators to launch, and up to ten physical sportsbook locations. The city of Franklin, which held city elections on October 1, has already approved plans to allow an operator to launch a retail sportsbook in the municipality.
Yesterday (October 30) saw the lottery publish the results of its request for proposals (RFP) to operate sports betting, in which a bid from DraftKings and Crown Gaming scored highest for both mobile and retail betting. Intralot, meanwhile, beat DraftKings-Crown to score highest for operating sports betting on behalf of the lottery.
Operators and suppliers submitted 13 proposals in the tender for mobile wagering, with six for retail wagering and four to power the lottery’s betting product.
The New Hampshire Lottery can now continue negotiations with each bidder, with a view to signing the final contracts by the end of November. It is prohibited from releasing any further information on the RFP at this time, it added.
“Sports betting represents a major next step in the New Hampshire Lottery’s evolution, and given its significance, we are pleased with the overall quality of the proposals we received,” lottery marketing director Maura McCann said.
“We look forward to continuing the RFP process and to ultimately implementing a sports betting system that supports continued revenue growth, while also incorporating all necessary safeguards and protections for our players and retailers.”
Next year, New Hampshire towns will have the opportunity to put the question on whether to allow retail sportsbooks, should any of the ten locations remain following the city elections. The question can be placed on Town Meeting warrants from spring 2020.
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