New Hampshire Sports Betting Revenue Enjoys Substantial Year-Over-Year Increase

Revenue for New Hampshire sports betting is way up in the latest handle reports.

This is in many ways pretty standard for online sports betting in the United States these days. The industry remains in an exponential growth phase. It is gaining more popularity year-over-year, even month-over-month.

Still, increased business can be tougher to come by for markets that legalized sports betting earlier than others. That is the exact case we see when looking at sports betting in New Hampshire. Granted, The Granite State was not the first to the table. They were the 16th state to legalize sports betting. But that still means the approval came in 2019. And operations launched by the end of that same year.

Roughly 60 months into the New Hampshire sports betting era, it can be harder to sustain or incite sizable growth. Sure, a month here, a month there. That is no biggie. Monthly swings are ingrained into the industry, even for newer and bigger markets. 

Nevertheless, outlier months featuring massive handle and revenue increases become more difficult to beat. And that makes sense. Infinite growth is not a thing—in any industry. That raises the question: When will sports betting in the USA peak? And in The Granite State’s case, may it have already reached its highest point?

New Hampshire Sports Betting Revenue in September was Up Nearly 50 Percent Month-Over-Month

The latest New Hampshire sports betting revenue report suggests the market has not, in fact, hit its upper limit. As Robert Fletcher of iGaming explains, the state’s handle exploded during the month of September:

“Turning now to New Hampshire, monthly handle in September hit $72.8 million. This is 9.0 percent more than last year and 47.4 percent ahead of August. It is also the highest monthly total since January this year. Data from the New Hampshire Lottery shows players spent $64.3 million betting on sports online in September. On top of this, $8.4 million was bet at retail sportsbooks.

As for gross gaming revenue, this amounted to $9.3 million, up 50.0 percent year-on-year and also 173.5 percent ahead of August’s total. Online revenue hit $9.2 million and retail just $72,024. This left New Hampshire with a state-wide hold of 12.77 percent for the month of September. In addition, tax from sports betting totalled $4.0 million.”

These are pretty substantial increases, particularly from a veteran market like New Hampshire. It isn’t just the sports betting handle (i.e. total dollars spent on bets) that is up, either. The actual gross gaming revenue exploded in September—both month-over-month as well as year-over-year.

Some of this can be attributed to the rise in betting on the NFL online. Week 1 of the regular season kicks off in September, making it a prime month for online football betting. New Hampshire, of course, does not have their own pro football team. But they are within close proximity to a handful of franchises that dominate fandom among their population. Most notably, you will see residents root for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, New York Jets, New York Giants and even the Buffalo Bills.

Is There Anything Else Behind The Granite State’s Sports Betting Growth?

This question is tougher to answer. The uptick in football betting may explain most of the handle increase. And even the gross gaming revenue rise can be tied to more losing wagers.

We should also note that August is one of the slowest months for sports betting. Wagering on the NFL has not quite taken off while both NBA betting and NHL betting are a few weeks away from crescendoing. At this point of the calendar, betting on the WNBA, MLB online betting and U.S. Open tennis betting winds up carrying many states’ bottom lines. 

Yet, even with all of this in mind, the growth of New Hampshire sports betting revenue still carries an air of “Is something else going on here?” Because their increase in September is mammoth even by August’s standards. And remember, they are up year-over-year as well. That means September 2023 pales in comparison to September 2024. Does that, in turn, also mean we can expect similar results from New Hampshire sports betting in October 2024? Is this a one-month blip?

These answers will not come for some time. Sure, the October 2024 revenue reports will drop soon. But whether New Hampshire sports betting goes up or down we must still monitor the trends over a longer term. Frankly, this is a topic we will need to track until at least January 2025 before drawing or predicting any profound conclusions.

Will New Hampshire Sports Betting Peak Before Other States?

With all of this said, we do not necessarily expect this type of growth to continue for New Hampshire sports betting. Not only are they a half-decade into building up their (finite) client base, but they are one of the USA’s smaller markets. 

At present, they rank 41st in total population, according to StatsAmerica.org. On top of that, they do not have a pro sports franchise in-market. Some argue this benefits their numbers relative to population. After all, New Hampshire is centrally located within proximity of so many different pro sports markets—New York, Philadelphia, Washington—that this theoretically casts a wider net on their interest in various teams.

Regardless, the DraftKings monopoly on New Hampshire sports betting may create a superficial cap on growth. As of now, they are the only online sportsbook in New Hampshire. And while they are one of the two biggest in the country, the total lack of competition poses potential challenges when it comes to growthy.

Could New Hampshire still be in a sports betting growth phase anyway? Definitely. But if we had to guess, more notable and sustainable growth will require the expansion of New Hampshire sports betting operators.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: