New Hampshire Passes The Latest Fantasy Sports Law
On Tuesday, Governor Chris Sununu signed a bill that legalizes and regulates fantasy sports within the state of New Hampshire. The new legislation makes N.H. the 13th state to authorize fantasy sports contests.
Inside of NH HB580
HB580 was passed by the Legislature in June after several amendments were made. The new law shares a few key similarities with other recent DFS bills that have been passed.
- Participants in fantasy sports contests must be at least 18 years old.
- Various consumer protections are required, including isolating operational funds from player funds. Employees are also prohibited from playing games, and the site must have responsible gaming policies in place.
- The New Hampshire Lottery Commission will be responsible for creating, monitoring, and enforcing the regulatory framework for fantasy sports operations.
Two notable differences in NH House Bill 580 come in the areas of taxation, licensing fees, and registration.
The law does not include any tax or set licensure fees, a stark contrast to the recent bills approved by the state legislatures in NJ and DE. In NJ, operators must pay a 10.5% tax on gross revenue to the Division of Consumer Affairs quarterly. In DE, operators are required to pay an annual licensing fee of $50,000 and up to 15.5% of their gross revenue generated in the state.
NH HB580 also permits fantasy sports sites already operating in the state to remain while the law goes into effect. The only requirement is that they submit registration documents.
Other States With DFS Laws
Though the legal microscope on the DFS industry has slowed down legislative efforts, there are a decent amount of states with DFS laws already enacted. Here is a current list of all the sports betting states that have legalized fantasy sports:
Arkansas - http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2017/2017R/Pages/BillInformation.aspx?measureno=HB2250
Indiana - http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/house/1181/
Kansas - http://kslegislature.org/li_2016/b2015_16/measures/hb2155/
Massachusetts - http://www.mass.gov/ago/consumer-resources/consumer-information/dfs/
Mississippi - http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2017/pdf/history/HB/HB0967.xml
Missouri - http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills161/hlrbillspdf/5525S.05F.PDF
New York - https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2015/S8153
Vermont - -http://legislature.vermont.gov/assets/Documents/2018/Docs/JOURNAL/sj170512.pdf#page=17
Virginia - https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+cab+SC10120SB0646+SBREF
Tennessee - http://sos.tn.gov/fantasysports