DraftKings Leading the Race for First New Hampshire Sports Betting License

The legalization process for online sports betting is well underway across the USA and New Hampshire is one of the states that have recently announced they would be awarding gaming licenses to sports betting operators in the state. The licensing process is being handled by the New Hampshire Lottery, which announced a tender for sports betting operators earlier in the year.
When the tender was first launched, the Lottery representatives announced their pleasure with the number and quality of the applications they had received. Now after some time has passed, the applications have been reviewed and it is fantasy sports and sports betting giant DraftKings that’s received the highest score, with a total of 810 out of 1,000 points.
The scoring system was introduced by the New Hampshire Lottery in order to ensure that players would get a safe and reliable place to play at, while also providing enough revenue to the state budget, which is already allocated towards education.
At the moment, DraftKings appears to be a heavy favorite to receive the first New Hampshire sports betting license. The company has requested a license for both retail and mobile sports betting, with different revenue share proposals depending on the quality of the deal made.
Sports Betting the Next Big Step for New Hampshire
For many years, lottery games were the only gambling games that players in New Hampshire could access. These were offered by the State Lottery and included both local and nationwide drawings. Now, the state regulators are ready to start issuing licenses for the next big step in New Hampshire gambling industry.
Sports betting has been the natural next step for the evolution of legal gambling, and operators are already offering such services in a number of other states. DraftKings was the one of the first companies to begin offering sports betting in other states, which is why it comes as no surprise they scored so high on the tender, given they already have experience with similar situations.
If DraftKings is granted the license, they would be able to offer New Hampshire based customers a chance to bet on sports both live and online. The operator already has mobile apps which would enable players to bet on the go and make online sports betting heavily available across the state.
The Details of the Proposal
Back when the tender was announced, companies were asked to hand in their detailed proposals. These had to include both proof of the ability to provide a safe and stable gaming product and the conditions under which the operators were willing to work in New Hampshire.
The DraftKings proposal is focused heavily on the mobile sports betting part of the equation, suggesting a 51/49% revenue share split in favor of the New Hampshire Lottery if they were the only site to be granted the mobile sports betting license. The cut would go down to 21% or 16% if the Lottery would issue licenses to three or more operators for mobile betting.
The same proposal suggests that the Lottery receives 40% of the retail product revenues, but it is expected that the share will go up to 50% if the operator is allowed to offer both products exclusively. At this time, it appears that DraftKings is by far in the lead in the licensing process and their collaboration with Crown Gaming appears to be working out for the best at this time.
The Future of Sports Betting in USA
New Hampshire is just the latest of the states that have started issuing licenses for sports betting. The process of legalization is heavily underway and it is expected that within the next few years most of the states will have legalized sports betting on some level. How many and which operators will be granted licenses in which states remains to be seen.
When New Hampshire is concerned, it appears that DraftKings may well be the only operator to offer sports betting for some time to come, but other companies may join the mix depending on the decisions of the New Hampshire Lottery representatives. On the other hand, Intralot appears to be the company set to handle lottery games in the state, as they currently lead the same scoring system in the lottery component.
Away from New Hampshire, similar licensing processes are now underway in other states, while many others are only beginning the legalization process and passing bills that would make sports betting fully legal and regulated. Whichever state you live in, you will want to keep an eye out for news regarding sports betting as it is very likely to be coming to your town in the near future.
