With a measure to ban greyhound racing recently approved by Massachusetts voters, legislation in New Hampshire may be coming to protect simulcast and poker wagering at parks like the one in Seabrook in the event a similar ban is sought in the Granite State.
Options to expand gambling with slot machines may also be part of the coming session of the New Hampshire Legislature, which is expected to deal with shrinking state revenues caused by the economic recession, as well as higher demands for social services and unanswered questions as to how to fully fund the state's retirement pension fund.
Greyhound protection advocates confirmed yesterday they will pursue a bill in the coming New Hampshire legislative session that would phase out live dog racing in New Hampshire by 2010. But unlike previous bills that have failed in the Granite State, this version would still allow simulcast racing and betting at the state's three dog tracks in Seabrook, Belmont and Hinsdale.
According to Carey Theil, of the Massachusetts based anti-racing group Grey2K USA, the prime sponsor of the bill is N.H. House Rep. Mary Cooney of Plymouth. Although not in its final form, the proposed bill is currently in the Legislative Services office with a preliminary or LSR number of 444, he said.
Not long after Massachusetts voters approved Question 3 on the November ballot banning greyhound racing there, Theil gathered his New Hampshire board members and anti-dog racing advocates. About two weeks ago, he said, the resolution was made to move against live racing.
Theil said allowing the tracks to stay open for simulcast racing was seen as a practical way to ensure the bill's passage this time round. Simulcasting could take the financial sting out of closing down the race tracks, he said.
"We do not view the amount of revenue generated by live greyhound racing as significant to New Hampshire," Theil said. "Jobs are another matter, though, and continuing to allow simulcasting takes care of that."
Concord, N.H., lobbyist Curtis Barry, who represents Hinsdale Greyhound Park in Hinsdale, N.H., said yesterday there may be a bill filed this session on behalf of the greyhound tracks to change the state's laws governing simulcasting. Currently, racing venues must provide 50 days of live dog racing annually in order to have simulcast wagering at the tracks.
According to published reports, Joseph Sullivan, owner of Hinsdale, has said live dog racing costs more to run and regulate and loses money when compared to simulcast racing.
Should the state allow its racing venues to eliminate live racing, they would become essentially off-track betting facilities.
Most of the state's racing venues, including Salem's Rockingham Park (horse racing), offer significant private poker games, like the nightly Texas Hold'em events at Seabrook Greyhound Park.
Gambling advocates are again proposing an increase in New Hampshire's legal gambling option to augment the state's revenues without adding a sales or income tax. Racetrack owners have long sought permission to add video gambling machines — or slot machines — to their parks, but have never been successful in the legislature.
"There will be another full-fledged effort to bring slot machines to the tracks this (legislative) session," Barry said. "Gambling has changed enormously in the past 20 years. There's Internet gambling, casino gambling in nearby states and other options that have entered the picture, changing it drastically."
The owners and lobbyist for Seabrook Greyhound Park were called for comment for this article but did not return calls by press time.
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