The state of New Hampshire is inching closer to launching sports betting.
On Wednesday, the New Hampshire Lottery published a request for proposals (RFP) for potential sports betting vendors.
The document, which is 71-pages in length, was sent to vendors that have expressed an interest in serving the Granite State.
Looking at the RFP
The RFP includes a loose timeline for the launch of sports betting in New Hampshire. Prospective vendors will have until 26 August to submit their proposals. The Lottery will then aim to select vendors and begin contract negotiations on 17 October. Final approval of the contracts is expected to take place on 20 November. The Lottery is also looking for a partner to help with the rollout of sports being products across the 1,400 lottery retailers in the state.
Sports betting contracts will be awarded on a non-exclusive basis. Mobile and land-based sports betting licenses will last for six years while the lottery contract will last for five years.
Any sports betting vendor that receives a license must develop its own skin, regardless of it being a land-based or online sportsbook. Proposers must also build a land-based sports betting space (only applies to land-based sportsbooks), supply their own hardware, customer support and sports betting services.
According to the documents, any vendor that submits a proposal “must have an established sports betting software platform that is currently in use in at least three jurisdictions.” It does not specify if these must be US jurisdictions.
How proposals will be assessed
Proposals put forth by operators will be graded out of a total of 1,000 points. All information will be confidential throughout the entire process. Operators will be assessed in the following areas:
- Company experience, resources and financial stability (125 points)
- Company integrity and ethics (100 points)
- General design and implementation of sports betting product (150 points)
- Economic development in New Hampshire (100 points)
- Strength of the sports betting hardware and software solutions (175 points)
- Strength of the proposer’s sports betting services (175 points)
- Proposer’s compliance program (75 points)
- Responsible gaming (75 points)
- Accounting and audit program (25 points)
Sports betting in New Hampshire
In July, New Hampshire became the second New England state to legalize sports betting. Land-based, online and mobile sports betting is now legal under the state’s new law. The law allows the Lottery to award licenses to 10 land-based venues and five online and mobile sportsbooks.
The law allows the regulator to negotiate revenue-sharing agreements with each licensee.
Bettors in the Granite State must be 18 years old and can create online accounts remotely from anywhere within state lines. The bill also permits in-play sports betting via online platforms only.
However, New Hampshire’s betting law prohibits wagering on collegiate events that take place within state lines.
Elsewhere in the US, lawmakers in Connecticut unveiled a draft sports betting bill. Penn National Gaming also announced that the Ameristar Casino in Iowa will launch sports betting operations on 15 August.
