A proposal in New Hampshire to raise the legal age for sports betting from 18 to 21 lasted three weeks but the effort appears to be over for 2025.
On Jan. 27, at an executive session of the House Ways and Means Committee, members voted 11 to 7 in favor of finding the bill “inexpedient to legislate.” In practical terms, this means the majority of the committee determined that the bill should not advnace out of committee.
New Hampshire is one of a small handful of regulated states that allows people as young as 18 to wager on sports, but Rep. Sally Fellows‘ HB 83 aimed to raise the minimum legal sports wagering age to 21. The issue was debated at a public hearing last week, when the likes of Fellows and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health CEO Marlene Warner argued in favor of raising the age.
On Monday, Rep. Fred Doucette (R) moved the motion to dismiss the legislation, suggesting that it’s an issue that can revisited. Doucette also noted the potential for the legislation as written to reduce the state’s revenues from sports betting. The bill notes in its language that raising the betting age limit would likely cost the state $640,000 in lost revenue per year.
Fellow Republican Rep. Cyril Aures noted that the bill could be a liberty issue for young people.
“If they want to bet with their money, let them bet,” he told the committee.
That was contested by Susan Elberger (D), who countered that it doesn’t make sense to say that liberty counts only in one space but not others, noting that the age limits for alcohol and tobacco consumption are 21.
Rep. Tom Schamberg (D) also opposed the motion, stating that he felt it is important for the state to “make a statement” concerning the betting age limit, as has been done with alcohol and tobacco products.
Ultimately, the proposal to raise the minimum age for sports betting is now dead for the year.
New Hampshire senators say it’s time for online casino
Meanwhile, over in the New Hampshire Senate, a bill has been filed that would legalize online casino starting Jan. 1, 2026.
Sen. Timothy Lang, Sen. Daniel Innis, Sen. Howard Pearl and Sen. Keith Murphy‘s SB 168 was referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Jan. 23.
Under the proposal, the New Hampshire Lottery would create an online wagering division and license three to six online gaming platforms, each tethered to an licensed existing gaming facility within the state.
Licensees would be taxed at 45% of gross online gaming revenue.
If the bill were to pass with its current language, the legal age for online casino gaming would also be 18. That would make New Hampshire the first iGaming state to allow 18 to 20-year-olds to spend their money at regulated online casinos.
