New Hampshire confirms DraftKings, Intralot deals

Reports coming out of New Hampshire towards the end of October had suggested that the state gaming regulators were in talks with DraftKings and Intralot regarding the state’s lottery and sports gambling operations.

The state has now formally agreed on a contract with the betting operator DrafKings which will allow sports betters from New Hampshire to legally wager on the Super Bowl for next year.

Greek operator Intralot, which is already powering the state lottery also gets an amended deal. With the new deal, Intralot will be allowed to offer limited kinds of bets on lottery kiosks already existing at retail points of sale. The state will claim 19.25% of the revenue under the new agreement.

On Monday, the New Hampshire Executive Council, which is an advisory body to Republican Governor Chris Sununu, voted 3-1 in favour of a contract which paves the way for DraftKings to offer mobile and land-based betting for the New Hampshire lottery.

There is a possibility of 2-year extensions in the 6-year deal with DraftKings and it includes both retail and digital wagering. It is expected that the mobile wagering will be live by January 2020, while the physical locations offering sports betting are anticipated to be up and running by the coming spring.

Governor Sununu stated that the state had “moved fast to get this done and the deal is a win for New Hampshire.” He tweeted, “We are partnering with a world-class company to provide a first-rate customer service experience. With today’s vote, everyone will now be able to bet on @TomBrady and the @Patriots in time for this year’s Super Bowl.

As per the deal, the New Hampshire lottery will receive 51% of retail gaming revenue and 50% of mobile betting revenue from DraftKings. This is a stiff price and one that helped DraftKings beat the competition who too were vying for this near-monopoly in the state betting scene.

New Hampshire’s sports betting law allows residents to use the power of the ballot to approve or reject hosting a retail sportsbook in their vicinities. This move was made a few weeks after the residents of Claremont, Berlin, Manchester, Somersworth and Laconia had voted to allow physical sports betting retail locations to operate in their neighbourhoods. It is expected that the other towns will hold votes on this in early 2020.

For both land-based and mobile betting, only residents above the age of 18 will be allowed to wager. However, they will not be allowed to bet on any games happening within the state or any New Hampshire college teams.

This sounds like a win-win for New Hampshire, DraftKings, Intralot and the state gamers alike.