New Hampshire Governor Supports Online Gambling
Governor John Lynch of New Hampshire is unhappy with plans to install slot machines in his state, and might prefer regulating online gambling. A spokesman for Lynch told the Concord Monitor that Lynch is preparing his own gambling proposal to be released this week, and online gambling is a featured part.The state's legislature has been struggling to cover a massive budget deficit. Even lawmakers generally opposed to gambling are starting to speak in favor of using race track slots as a revenue source.
But Lynch has said he will veto any law that includes slots as part of gambling expansion. The governor has voiced a resistance to any further proliferation of gambling.
Lynch presumably would tax Internet casinos doing business in the state, a realistic approach that concedes the online gambling already exists, just without regulation.
No comment was released on how the online gambling tax would be structured, or what other rules would be placed on gaming sites accepting New Hampshire residents.
The state Senate passed a bill authorizing 17,000 slots at various locations, but supporters concede it has an uphill battle in the House, and then the worry about Lynch's threatened veto.
