New Hampshire Lawmakers Weighing Options On Gambling

The state of New Hampshire is much the same as other states these days. Either find ways to create revenue or raise taxes on the people of the state. When faced with those options, the people of the state want to take the first option.

Now, that question will get tricky in the next legislative session when that first option becomes expanded gambling in New Hampshire. Still, people of the state would rather expand gambling than pay higher taxes.

Rockingham Park, in Salem, New Hampshire, will be the area that makes the most noise when lawmakers reconvene. There has been a proposal from a Las Vegas casino company to bring slot machines to Rockingham.

The idea is an attractive one for lawmakers. Their budget projects out to be about $250 million short at the end of this fiscal year. The slot machines have been projected to bring the state about $200 million annually.

If the proposal is accepted and the projections hold up, that would leave only $50 million for the state to have to come up with to balance the budget. The money the expanded gambling could generate could be too good to pass up.

The people of New Hampshire have never been in favor of expanded gambling, but they seem to be liking the idea more these days. With the economy as bad as it is, the added revenue would be a viable option rather than their taxes going up.

December 30, 2008
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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