New Hampshire rejects casino bill
The New Hampshire House of Representatives rejected Senator D’allesandro’s casino bill and barred the chamber from considering it until 2019.
US.- New Hampshire won’t have new casino legislation any time soon after the House of Representatives rejected State Senator Lou D’Allesandro’s (D-District 20) bill for gaming to end casino prohibition. The House also issued a memorandum that prevents future gambling proposals to be considered by the chamber until the two year legislative session ends.
D’allesandro’s 19th effort to lift the prohibition in the state failed as critics fear that it might have a harmful impact on society, and hurt existing businesses. However, according to the lawmaker, New Hampshirites are already affected by casino ads from operators in Maine and Connecticut: “While New Hampshire has done nothing, surrounding states now have gaming. They advertise on our TV stations and we send buses of New Hampshire residents to those other states to gamble.”
The bill intended to legalise two commercial casinos in the state that would ave offered 160 tables and 3500 slots at the larger one, with a license cost of US$80 million. The smaller one’s would have costed US$40 million and would’ve had 80 tables and 1500 slots.
The Senator explained that “no state that has legalised gambling has crumbled”. However, the House has continuosly blocked the Senate’s attempts to pass gaming bills to allow commercial gambling in the state. The state still holds casinos and bingo halls in which players win merchandise or credit for food and that have a charitable purpose, as each wager pays a percentage to charity.
