This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
New Hampshire’s decision to legalize casinos came with a single purpose – to funnel a portion of the revenue to charities and nonprofits.
With the growth of gambling and this new revenue stream, many charities across the state are scrambling for a coveted spot on casino schedules to receive these funds.
Many organizations that apply for a spot on the casino’s calendar are left in a state of uncertainty, often receiving little to no explanation for their selection or rejection, which makes this unregulated system feel increasingly opaque and unpredictable.
For a year, Carl Nolin, a fundraiser for the American Legion Post in Concord, has been locked in a relentless battle to secure a spot on the calendar of any of the state’s 14 operating gaming halls since the Concord Casino, their former partner, closed its doors.
Nolin has submitted applications to several casinos, including one in Nashua, but the months have passed without any clarity.
“It has been very difficult, almost impossible,” said Nolin. “It’s time-consuming, you have to check in every three to four weeks and see if anything has changed.”
No public waitlist exists for charities to see where they stand or how close they are to being added to the gaming schedule.
The absence of standardized criteria for how casinos select charities adds to the confusion.
Local focus
Understandably, many casinos tend to prioritize local organizations that reside within their host communities.
“We prioritize hyper-local organizations based in Seabrook,” said Andre Carrier, chief executive officer of The Brook. “We then expand our search to include the broader Seacoast area and Rockingham County and, finally, we also consider larger statewide organizations like Make-A-Wish.”
In the early years before charitable gaming took off, the tables were turned; casinos were the ones actively seeking out charities, as their games of chance couldn’t operate without them.
Nolin, who also fundraises for the Concord Lions Club and a Concord-based disability advocacy organization called The Arc, recalls how he initially partnered the Lions Club with The Brook. But as more local organizations in the Seacoast area became aware of the charitable gaming model in New Hampshire, Nolin found himself searching for local casinos.
“When all the local people found out about it, The Brook then decided that they would sponsor their local charities and anyone outside of that realm is out,” Nolin said.
The rationale for wanting to partner with a casino located an hour away from Concord is that The Brook, being the largest casino in the state, could generate significantly more revenue.
After The Brook wouldn’t partner anymore, Nolin helped the charities get on the schedule with the now-closed Concord Casino.
“We’re a small organization. We didn’t need tons of money,” said Nolin. “We just needed a little and they (Concord Casino) were very good at it here in Concord for three, four years, and then the ship fell apart.”
Beyond regional considerations, Carrier said that The Brook ensures that the charities they partner with maintain an active online presence, including a website and social media channels.
“This allows them to effectively promote charity gaming and engage their supporters,” said Carrier.
In New Hampshire, casinos are mostly clustered in the southern part of the state. This geographic concentration means that charities and nonprofits in the southern tier often receive a bigger share of donations compared to those in more northern areas.
In 2023, the Rotary Club of Lebanon Charities, Inc. partnered with the Lebanon Poker Room, while the Rotary Club of Hampton Charitable Foundation, Inc. teamed up with The Brook for a 10-day fundraising period.
Despite the same time frame, the difference in donations is striking. The Rotary Club of Lebanon Charities brought in $8,429 from its time at the Lebanon Poker Room, while the Rotary Club of Hampton raised a substantial $59,481 at The Brook.
Funding without accountability
Some charities in New Hampshire receive over $100,000 during their scheduled events, yet the state doesn’t require them to report how the money is spent.
Debi Warner, a clinical psychologist who also consults with nonprofits to secure grant funding as a registered fundraising counsel with the New Hampshire Department of Justice, wants the system to be more transparent.
“The method they’re using now is completely haphazard. There is no system,” said Warner.
She advocates for a process similar to grant funding, where organizations are required to outline how they plan to use the funds and then report back on their progress.
“It just happens to be that we haven’t had a calamity,” Warner cautioned.
The gaming commission tasked with studying the way charitable gaming operates in New Hampshire, after hearing testimonies from charities, is considering recommending the formation of a new committee to review both the process of selecting charities and how they use the funds.
Patrick Abrami, chair of the commission said until a system is figured out, he would like to see donations capped at $150,000.
The Exeter chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Club received over $174,000, making it one of the largest contributions from casinos last year.
“I’m concerned that the total is getting too big,” said Abrami.
In 2023, out of the 800 charities that partnered with casinos, at least 80 were dedicated to athletics, such as booster clubs for school sports and nonprofits supporting little leagues and even cheerleading organizations. These groups collectively received over $1.9 million from the $28 million distributed to charities.
Other organizations that partnered with casinos last year were largely dedicated to helping veterans and their families, like chapters of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and service organizations like Rotary clubs, and historical societies.
Around 20 organizations that provide food and housing assistance were also able to partner with casinos, receiving nearly $1 million from charitable gaming.
Similar to The Brook, ECL Entertainment, which operates the Lucky Moose and The River Casino & Sports Bar in Nashua, also prioritizes charities within their local communities.
Ryan Lessard, a spokesperson for ECL Entertainment, said prioritizing local organizations is their “north star.”
Norman Cloutier, president of the Mount Washington Valley Adult Day Center, expressed a desire to see the charitable gaming model reorganized and made more structured.
“Nonprofits and charities who are determined to have a greater social benefit need to be prioritized,” he said. “I’m not trying to single out anyone here, but treating the local little league team the same as a food pantry or homeless shelter, there’s no mechanism for identifying what the greater needs are. It’s just deeply flawed.”
