CONCORD, N.H. – On the heels of the New Hampshire Lottery announcing all-time sales and revenue records, Governor Chris Sununu signed House Bill 480 today, authorizing the New Hampshire Lottery to conduct sports betting. Governor Sununu was joined today at the New Hampshire Lottery by Charlie McIntyre, executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery, Debra Douglas, chairman of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, and House Bill 480 sponsors to celebrate passage of the sports betting legislation.
To kick off the bill signing ceremony, the New Hampshire Lottery announced it has shattered its all-time sales record during Fiscal Year 2019, generating more than $384.2 million in total sales and returning more than $100.7 million to New Hampshire for state education. This marks a 15.4-percent or $13.5 million year-over-year increase in education aid and a 15.5-percent or $51.4 million year-over-year increase in total sales, according to unaudited figures.
“Sports betting is the right bet for New Hampshire,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “With the exciting new addition of sports betting, the New Hampshire Lottery will continue to drive critical revenue, putting even more money into our educational system. Today’s action will provide financial support and important resources to help our public education system, which will benefit every child in every school across the state — a win for New Hampshire.”
The sports betting legislation, which creates a Division of Sports Wagering within the New Hampshire Lottery to oversee sports betting, allows for mobile wagering and prohibits any wagering on New Hampshire college teams or any college games taking place in the Granite State. Players must be 18 or older to make wagers.
“I am pleased with our record-breaking sales success and especially that the New Hampshire Lottery has sustained its core mission in remaining an important force in raising education revenue for the state,” said Charlie McIntyre, executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery. “Sports betting represents an exciting new chapter for the New Hampshire Lottery and our loyal players. The New Hampshire Lottery is well-positioned to strategically administer sports betting to maximize revenue and to protect our consumers.”
A number of factors have contributed to the New Hampshire Lottery’s success over the past year. Highlighted by a $1.6 billion jackpot in October 2018, Mega Millions sales jumped by 85-percent, from about $17 million in Fiscal Year 2018 to nearly $31.5 million in Fiscal Year 2019. Scratch tickets continued to play an important role in driving sales, generating $249.9 million in sales, an $11.6 million increase from last year. In addition, KENO 603 sales increased by nearly 224-percent, from $8.3 million to $26.8 million this past fiscal year.
“This is an ongoing team effort and we are fortunate to have a strong group of creative, thoughtful, and dedicated staff, who have worked tirelessly to help meet this important milestone of raising more than $100 million for New Hampshire education for the first time in our history,” McIntyre continued. “We are also proud of our retail network, which is comprised of many small businesses, as this will be a record year of revenues earned by them.”
A natural next step in the New Hampshire Lottery’s evolution, iLottery has played an important role in driving sales, with the new online platform generating more than $6.4 million in sales since its launch in September 2018. Currently, more than 47,000 players have signed up for iLottery, which offers players the opportunity to play Powerball, Mega Millions and twenty e-Instant games.
The New Hampshire Lottery is not only the fastest growing lottery in New England, it is one of the fastest growing lotteries in the United States. In the past five years, New Hampshire Lottery sales have increased by 39-percent, an increase of $107.4 million over that time period. Since its inception in 1964, the New Hampshire Lottery has contributed more than $2 billion to education.
Photos and Captions
Caption: Governor Chris Sununu signed House Bill 480 today, authorizing the New Hampshire Lottery to conduct sports betting. Pictured here, Governor Sununu poses with bill sponsors and New Hampshire Lottery leadership prior to signing the bill. With Governor Sununu seated at the table, pictured, from left to right, Rep. Fred Doucette, Rep. J.P. Marzullo, New Hampshire Lottery Executive Director Charlie McIntyre, Rep. John Potucek, Rep. Brian Chirichiello, Rep. Howard Pearl, Rep. Timothy Lang, New Hampshire Lottery Commission Chairman Debra Douglas and New Hampshire Chief Compliance Officer John Conforti.
Caption: Governor Chris Sununu signed House Bill 480 today, authorizing the New Hampshire Lottery to conduct sports betting. Pictured here, Governor Sununu poses with bill sponsors and New Hampshire Lottery leadership after formally signing the bill. With Governor Sununu seated at the table, pictured, from left to right, Rep. Fred Doucette, Rep. J.P. Marzullo, New Hampshire Lottery Executive Director Charlie McIntyre, Rep. John Potucek, Rep. Brian Chirichiello, Rep. Howard Pearl, Rep. Timothy Lang, New Hampshire Lottery Commission Chairman Debra Douglas and New Hampshire Chief Compliance Officer John Conforti.
Caption: In addition to signing House Bill 480 into law today at the New Hampshire Lottery, Governor Chris Sununu joined with New Hampshire Lottery officials to celebrate that the New Hampshire Lottery broke its all-time sales record during Fiscal Year 2019, generating more than $384.2 million in total sales and returning more than $100.7 million to New Hampshire for state education. Pictured here, Governor Sununu addresses the crowd, while New Hampshire Lottery Executive Director Charlie McIntyre and New Hampshire Lottery Commission Chairman Debra Douglas look on.
Caption: The New Hampshire Lottery announced today it has shattered its all-time sales record during Fiscal Year 2019, generating more than $384.2 million in total sales and returning more than $100.7 million to New Hampshire for state education. This marks a 15.4-percent or $13.5 million year-over-year increase in education aid and a 15.5-percent or $51.4 million year-over-year increase in total sales, according to unaudited figures. Pictured here, New Hampshire Lottery Executive Director Charlie McIntyre addresses the crowd, while New Hampshire Lottery Commission Chairman Debra Douglas looks on.
About New Hampshire Lottery
Since 1964, the New Hampshire Lottery has had a significant financial impact on the state. For the past 55 years, the New Hampshire Lottery has recorded more than $6.7 billion in lottery sales and other earnings, with over $4.5 billion paid in prizes and other cost of sales. Net proceeds to education total over $2 billion to date.
The New Hampshire Lottery Commission, located at 14 Integra Drive in Concord, currently manages all lottery operations in the state, including instant games, New Hampshire Powerball®, New Hampshire Mega Millions®, Tri-State Megabucks℠, Tri-State Pick3®/Pick4® Daily Numbers games, Gimme 5, Fast Play games, Lucky For Life®, KENO 603℠ and iLottery.