Last year, a homeless shelter in Portsmouth called Cross Roads House received a little over $65,000 in donations from charitable gaming, while the NH Coalition to End Homelessness brought in about $39,000.
Both nonprofits partnered with different New Hampshire casinos — one significantly larger than the other.
A new legislative proposal from State Rep. Dick Ames, D-Jaffrey, seeks to reshape charitable gaming by capping the revenue any single nonprofit or charity can receive annually.
The bill stems from concerns raised during state gaming commission meetings this year. Some charities voiced frustration that while a few rake in over $100,000 a year in donations, others struggle to make even $10,000.
“It would be an interim step towards developing a better system,” said Ames. “But it would be fair and more systematically constructed.”
The exact limits on annual revenue haven’t been finalized yet, Ames said. As for whether different types of charities — like booster clubs or veterans’ organizations — should have separate caps, he said that’s not something he plans to weigh in on.
Meanwhile, another lawmaker wants to replace historic horse racing machines with video lottery terminals that are similar to slot machines.
State Rep. Fred Doucette, R-Salem, is championing this change to direct more money to both the state and charities.
Operating historic horse racing machines is costly because of their complex technology and math, and right now, only 8.75% of the revenue from those machines goes to charities. But with video lottery terminals, Doucette says charities will get the same 35% of casino revenue in donations as they do from table games if they operate video lottery terminals.
“The inevitability of going forward with these types of machines is beneficial to all involved, most importantly, the charities,” Doucette said, though he acknowledged that the faster pace of play might raise some concerns. “In my book, the state has an opportunity to get some more revenue. The market is there.”
Under the current draft of the bill, a quarter percent of the revenue from these slot-like machines will be directed to problem gambling programs, while 4.75% will go to the retirement fund for police and fire personnel.
At the same time, State Rep. Bill Ohm, R-Nashua, has introduced a proposal to let municipalities decide whether they want historic horse racing machines in their communities — much like how they can allow or ban Keno, the electronic lottery-style game.
Right now, casinos must apply for historic horse racing licenses, and towns don’t have the option to opt-out.
When charitable gaming was first allowed in New Hampshire, the goal wasn’t to open the door for big casinos. Instead, it was meant to support smaller, local operations. But over time, that’s turned into a boom of gaming halls, complete with restaurants and entertainment.
“My bill is to try to correct that situation I thought it’d be appropriate to put this decision in the hands of the voters,” said Ohm. “If we want that, then that’s fine, but let’s make sure that we go through the normal procedure, which is to have a new form of entertainment in the form of this historic horse machines be treated as we did Keno.”
Ohm is also pushing for a new bill that would assess large gaming halls, like the ones in Salem and Nashua, based on the enterprise value of the property.
Lawmakers respond to gaming growth
One emerging bill would make historic horse racing facilities share a cut of the revenue from their machines with the communities where they’re located.
Another one is focused on creating a charitable gaming oversight commission to ensure casinos are transparent about how they select charity partners and how the charities spend the money they receive.
A recent projection from a gaming consultancy hired by a legislative commission suggests that New Hampshire’s gaming market could grow into a $1.1 billion industry in just three years, thanks to current trends and an influx of out-of-state casino operators.
With new gaming venues popping up across the state, the gambling landscape is shifting from small gaming rooms to full-fledged entertainment complexes. Legislators are working to get ahead of this growing industry with new regulations and oversight.
“It’s evolving rapidly, much more rapidly than anticipated,” said Ames. “There’s a lot to think about and a lot that was not anticipated in terms of the amount of money involved. The casinos that are participating in charitable gaming are becoming large and owned in most cases by out-of-state interests.”
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