This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
New Hampshire’s casino industry – 14 charitable gaming halls across the state and counting – is experiencing significant growth, with revenues reaching new heights year after year.
Casinos grossed $54 million in 2022, which is about $10 million more than was taken in 2021, an increase of 24%, according to a Monitor analysis.
As revenues grow, local charities and non-profits are reaping the financial benefits, occasionally receiving donations that soar into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The free cash, which state law sets at 35% of the take, causes tension between the organizations that are backing further expansion of new betting establishments and opponents who say the industry is operating with few restrictions while preying upon those who can least afford to lose.
The state is currently home to 14 operational casinos that are evolving to much more than mere gambling. They have transformed into entertainment destinations featuring live shows, concerts and dining experiences alongside the traditional array of table games and card rooms.
With at least three more casino developments on the table in communities across the state, including Concord, the trend shows no signs of slowing down.
“There really should be no surprise that it would be spreading like this,” said State Rep. Michael Cahill, a Newmarket Democrat. “They are promising revenue and the state always wants revenue, but the people aren’t looking at what it’s going to do in the area.”
One of the potential places for another casino is the city of Nashua, which already has three.
ECL Entertainment hopes to establish “The Mint,” a historic horse racing facility, in the Pheasant Mall on Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua. This comes after the acquisition of the city’s two casinos, Lucky Moose Casino and Tavern and The River Casino & Sports Bar, in Nashua. The developers hope to build and open a new gaming hall in 2024.
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While the state’s unique model of charitable gaming mandates 35% of the casino’s gross revenue goes to charities, with an additional 10% allocated to the state’s lottery commission for public education, concern is growing about the rapid expansion of the industry.
Katherine Sheehan, a Nashua resident, questioned why the city needed another casino during a planning board meeting in May.
“I know that the counter-argument is that it’s (casinos) doing so much good; it’s bringing in jobs, taxes, it’s bringing in charity, but that doesn’t mean that we should be tempted to grow this much for one city,” said Sheehan. “There is also the problem that there are gamblers in this town; there are people who are addicted to it.”
In Lebanon, a charitable gaming casino has been approved by the planning board. The proposed gaming hub by New Hampshire Group LLC aims to relocate Lebanon Poker Room on Hanover Street to a larger space on Miracle Mile, once a Honda dealership. The relocation to an 18,735-square-foot space would accommodate more gaming tables and a restaurant.
Like Lebanon and Nashua, the city of Concord, which is already the home to Concord Casino on 67 South Main Street located in the building of Draft Bar and Grill on South Main Street, has approved a new 44,000-square-foot casino, restaurant and brewery that will be constructed near Loudon Road.
Both the existing and proposed casino fall under the ownership of Andy Sanborn and his wife, Representative Laurie Sanborn, who was recently appointed as the chair of a commission to evaluate state gaming laws and processes to ensure equitable revenue distribution for charities.
“As multi-generational New Hampshire natives, we are eager to pay homage to all the things we love and admire about why we committed to New Hampshire and Concord,” Andy and Laurie Sanborn wrote to the Concord Planning Board as part of the casino application.
However, not everyone is on board with the planning board’s approval. It is being challenged in courtby residents who say the public was deprived of its due process rights when the board passed the project without adequate notice.
“This will be in my neighborhood and will affect traffic flow, as well as crime rate and the safety of the elderly, as well as children’s quality of life. Why even move to Concord (the Casino Capital), as we will be known all over the country?” Peggy Halacy, a Concord resident for over 20 years, wrote in an email filed as a public comment.
Charities benefiting from casino betting pushed for the project.
“We’re very excited here for the construction of a larger venue, again which will hopefully bring more dollars to us,” Norm Roberge, treasurer of Concord Lions Club said in support of the new casino in Concord during a planning board meeting in January.
Jeff Smarr, the founder of the Smarr scholarship, said his organization didn’t make much money at first by collaborating with Concord Casino, but as improvements were made, the money received as donations increased and have helped fund their activities.
In 2021, Concord Casino took in nearly $1 million in gross revenue, but fell to about $900,000 in 2022, according to figures provided by the Racing and Charitable Gaming Division of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission.
How New Hampshire’s casinos fund charities
The state’s system creates a collaborative relationship between casinos and selected charities. Casinos have the autonomy to choose their charity partners, provided they are licensed under the New Hampshire Lottery Commission and meet specific criteria.
To qualify, charities must be legitimate 501(c)(3) organizations based in New Hampshire, and they should have been registered with the Secretary of State’s office for at least one year.
Donations to charitable organizations are made on a seven- to 10-day rotation cycle. Throughout the period, 35% of the gross revenue from games of chance will be donated to charitable organizations.
In historical horse racing, when players use the machines to place bets, the gaming facility keeps 12% of the money it makes after giving out prizes. While it may appear that casinos are donating more to charities, only 3% of gross revenue is split between charities and the N.H. Lottery Commission.
These machines are much more profitable to casinos, which are eager to install more of these machines.
Still, charities are taking in more from casinos. In 2021, the donations amounted to $15.3 million, which grew to $18.9 million in 2022, an increase of 24%.
The donations for the first and second quarters of the current year alone have already reached almost $14 million, suggesting that the total donations for this year are on track to exceed those of previous years, highlighting the growing popularity of New Hampshire casinos.
The Brook, located in Seabrook and the largest casino and race wagering facility in New Hampshire, led in the donation figures until August, contributing a sum of $3.7 million to charities.
Previously, the casino’s location was a track for racing greyhounds.
Andre Carrier, the CEO of The Brook, an employee-owned enterprise, expressed his gratitude for the growth, highlighting that the business started with 110 employees but has expanded to 350 as it continues to flourish.
“The beautiful part about the New Hampshire charitable casino construct is it makes the treasurer part really efficient,” said Carrier. “The charity doesn’t have to have an auction or a golf tournament or do a walkathon to raise money.”
Edmond Talbot, the executive director of the New Hampshire Council on Problem Gambling, maintained a neutral stance on the expansion of charitable gaming.
“We advocate for services for those who have adverse effects,” said Talbot. “The calls have increased, but it doesn’t directly relate to charitable gaming or land-based casinos because you would have seen a huge dip during the time of COVID-19, when the land-based casinos were closed.”
Going forward, the money charitable gaming facilities generate will only increase, as Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law a bill that passed during this year’s legislative session that would allow gamblers to place wagers of up to $50 on games such as blackjack and roulette, rather than $10 per wager. It went into effect on July 1.
Auditors on site to keep gaming in check
With the gambling facilities being a cash industry, skepticism exists about the state’s oversight on reported casino revenue. But John Conforti, the chief compliance officer with the state lottery commission, said his division has a multi-layered auditing approach to ensure compliance.
“Our audit department, as part of their job, looks and makes sure that the payments that are being made to the charities are appropriate,” said Conforti.
“There are often adjustments that are found based on its activities, and so we require that game rooms make those corrections. For the most part, those tend to be minor or immaterial.”
On a monthly basis, the audit department looks at financial reports submitted by charitable gaming centers, which are submitted daily.
Furthermore, every two years, comprehensive audits covering finances, operations, and internal controls are conducted. Auditors are often present within gaming rooms, sometimes overseeing money collection, gaming floor controls and activities in the count rooms, all to ensure adherence to the established laws.
To further ensure that charitable gaming was proceeding in compliance with state laws and charities were receiving a fair share of the revenue, a new state commission was established.
However, doubts about the commission’s credibility emerged due to its chair being a casino operator in Concord.
Sanborn, who runs Concord Casino, was appointed to lead a 13-person commission tasked with studying the charity selection process, exploring the benefits of historical horse racing for charities and examining whether host communities should share in the profits of charitable gaming establishments.
“As a person she is a good legislator, but she’s got a vested interest in the business,” said State Senator Lou D’Allesandro, a Manchester Democrat. “The person who is on this commission should be a person who doesn’t have a vested interest in any entity but who has a vested interest in the success of the Lottery Commission in terms of how they are managing the gaming in the state of New Hampshire.”
With a budget of $150,000, the commission is required to report its findings and potential legislative recommendations by Nov. 1, 2024.
While appointing a casino operator to head a commission examining charitable gaming in New Hampshire garnered criticism, additional concerns were raised about the need for broader representation within the commission.
The commission comprised two Senate members, five House of Representatives members, two charity representatives, one charitable gaming operator, the state’s lottery director, and one public member appointed by the governor, along with Attorney General John Formella.
Talbot said while he has no objection to the study committee, he would like to see a member representing gambling addiction.
“I think there should be somebody on the panel that has some expertise in problem gambling, and it doesn’t have to be a person in recovery,” said Talbot. “If you’re going to have a liquor commission, you certainly are going to have somebody that has to deal with substance abuse to best represent the problem too.”
Moreover, the governor’s appointment of Patrick Abrami, a former member of the House Ways and Means committee, as a public member of the commission, faced opposition.
“He is a strong advocate for gaming, and they don’t have anybody representing the adverse side of gambling,” Rep. Cahill said. “I think he shouldn’t be on the commission.”
