New Hampshire Lawmakers Studies the Merits of Video Slot Machines

The gaming expansion debate in the state of New Hampshire is in full blast with Senators urging House legislators to pass proposed gaming laws. The approval of such laws could bring millions of dollars in new revenue to the state. Video slot machines are the subject of the latest initiative by state Senators to bring more gaming to New Hampshire.

Democratic Senators are hoping that they can convince the House to move quickly on this expansion. The Senate has already approved the Bill, but it is receiving considerable resistance in the House. The House Local and Regulated Revenues Committee will be recommending dismissing the legislation.

The Members of the Committee voted thirteen-seven against the Bill. Even with the "no" vote, the House has considered making some modification to the Senate Bill that would scale down the amount of gambling locations allowed to offer video slot machines. Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz said on April 15th, 2010 that this is just the standard back and forth between legislators.

In the end, the state of New Hampshire will be hard-pressed to block expanding gambling for long because of all the rapid gaming expansion happening in the northeastern part of the U.S. Schwartz was referring to states like Delaware and Pennsylvania that have increased the stakes in the race to become the gambling capital of the East Coast.

Pennsylvania legislators approved casino table games earlier this year and in Delaware, sports wagering was approved in 2009. Other states in the U.S. such as Maryland, New York, Connecticut and Maine are also in the process of considering expanded casino gaming.

Monday, 10 May 2010
Kori Woffendin