Regulating online gambling and directing net proceeds to the education trust fund, the general fund, and to reimburse municipalities for elderly, disabled, blind, and deaf tax exemptions.
SB 168 would create a legal framework for online gaming in New Hampshire and tie that new industry to municipal tax relief funding. The bill authorizes the state lottery commission to license between three and six online gaming wagering platforms, requires each operator to contract with a licensed New Hampshire gaming facility, and establishes detailed rules for age verification, identity checks, geolocation, wagering limits, self-exclusion, security controls, financial reporting, and responsible gaming. It also adds online gambling over the internet to the state’s criminal gambling statute as a defined prohibited activity, while carving out a regulated licensing structure under the new chapter.
The bill also creates a new elderly, disabled, blind, and deaf exemption reimbursement fund in the state treasury. That fund would reimburse municipalities for revenue lost from certain property tax exemptions, with annual reporting and prorated payments if the fund is short. Online gaming revenue would be split so that 25 percent goes to the existing education-related special fund, 25 percent goes to the new municipal reimbursement fund, and 50 percent goes to the general fund. The bill takes effect January 1, 2026.
SB 168 would significantly amend New Hampshire law by adding a new chapter governing online gaming, expanding the gambling code to address internet-based wagering, and creating a dedicated revenue-sharing and oversight structure under the lottery commission. It would also amend the state treasury and revenue statutes to establish a nonlapsing reimbursement fund for municipalities and to direct receipts from online gaming into that fund and other state accounts. The bill would affect the lottery commission, the department of revenue administration, licensed gaming facilities, online gaming operators, municipalities, and bettors, while also imposing compliance, auditing, and rulemaking obligations on the state.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes, the overall posture appears policy-driven and revenue-oriented rather than overtly contentious in the available record. The bill’s sponsors frame it as a regulated expansion of gambling that would generate state revenue and provide a new source of reimbursement for municipal tax exemptions. Because no committee transcripts or vote history were provided, there is no documented public sentiment to indicate support or opposition beyond the bill’s structure and stated purpose.
The main points of potential contention are the legalization and expansion of online gambling itself, the use of gambling revenue as a funding source for public programs, and the regulatory burden placed on operators and the lottery commission. Supporters are likely to emphasize the revenue split for education, the general fund, and municipal reimbursement, as well as consumer protections such as age verification, geolocation, and responsible gaming measures. Opponents may focus on gambling-related social harms, the adequacy of safeguards, the state’s reliance on gaming revenue, and whether the proposed licensing model and out-of-state wagering provisions are appropriate. No specific stakeholder objections or endorsements are documented in the provided materials.