New Hampshire Gets 13 Bids for Sports Betting

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Thirteen companies have submitted proposals to run New Hampshire's new sports betting system, lottery officials said Monday.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed a law in July that legalizes betting on professional and most Division I college sports, excluding games involving New Hampshire schools.

Mobile betting and retail gambling at 10 locations will be allowed, and the wagering is expected to produce an estimated $7.5 million for education in fiscal year 2021 and $13.5 million two years later.

The new law created a Division of Sports Wagering within the New Hampshire Lottery, which said Monday that it expects to approve final contracts by the end of November and launch sports betting by early 2020.

"We are pleased and encouraged at both the robust number of responses and the overall quality of the proposals," lottery director Charlie McIntyre said in a statement.

Voters in New Hampshire communities will have a chance to weigh in on permitting the operation of betting locations. The lottery is working to provide information on sports betting to cities with November elections.

Since a U.S. Supreme Court last year ended Nevada's monopoly on legal sportsbooks, they've opened in 12 more states. They've also been legalized but have not yet opened in another five — including New Hampshire — plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The issue is going to voters in Colorado this November.