Politics & Government

Gaming Final Report Calls for New, Three-Division System

Charitable gaming reform and two bills are also among the final recommendations issued by the state's Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority.

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A group tasked with investigating how New Hampshire could expand into casino-based gambling recommends that a new, three-division gaming commission is needed, although the group says it isn't making a determination that expanded gambling is "good or bad for New Hampshire."

The New Hampshire Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority has released a 44-page final report that outlines proposals for a variety of regulatory changes and a brand new system to oversee the state's expansion into casino gaming.

The new regulatory system recommended is a "unified" approach under the direction of a new gaming commission, according to the authority.

"Consistency of regulatory and operational standards and practices, as well as the need to achieve the most effective and efficient use of limited regulatory resources in a relatively small state, dictate movement to a unified agency model," stated authority members in a release Thursday afternoon. "At the same time, the unique needs of each of the three gaming sectors – the lottery, racing and charitable gaming, and casino-based gaming – require that the unified agency model have within it three separate divisions, one for each sector. And for both the lottery and the racing and charitable gaming sectors, retention of their respective commissions to perform discrete delegated functions will ensure that specialized expertise within each of these commissions will continue to be brought to bear on special issues unique to each sector."
 
The authority's report also puts forth two bills for the 2014 legislative session — one for expanded gaming, and one for "existing gaming." The latter would maintain current gaming oversight agencies, as the panel unanimously recommends against combining all regulatory responsibilities into a single state agency if efforts to bring a casino to New Hampshire aren't successful.

The expanded gaming bill would allow one casino in southeastern New Hampshire and outlines various measures to prevent deceptive advertising as well as provide funding for addiction treatment and prevention programs. The bill would allow a casino with the following limits and requirements, which the authority said it "invites the legislature to revisit":

  • 2,000 up to 5,000 slot machines; 75 up to 150 table games.
  • $450,000,000 minimum capital investment; annual capital reinvestment at 3.5% of revenues.
  • $80,000,000 gaming license fee; $1,500,000 gaming license renewal fee after 10 years.
  • Tax at 35% on gross slot revenue; tax at 18% on gross table game revenue.
  • Annual $600 fee per slot machine; certain other application fees.
Other findings include the fact that the state needs to reform charitable gaming in order to ensure the nonprofits those establishments benefit are getting their full 35 percent of the gross revenues.

The state, according to the authority, also doesn't have enough resources to "ensure the integrity of charitable gaming," due in part to the fact that surveillance and supervision of games at these locations "is plainly insufficient."

The final report is posted as a PDF above. The two bills proposed by the authority as well as the report of the authority’s consultant, WhiteSands Gaming LLC, are posted on the authority’s website at www.nh.gov/groa/index.htm.

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