Charitable gaming in New Hampshire includes poker, bingo, Lucky 7, raffles, games of chance and card rooms. The only form of legal electronic bingo gaming is handheld electronic bingo cards. Bingo, originally "beano," and Lucky 7 have been legal in New Hampshire since 1949 and games of chance since 1977.
Recently the governor signed a bill into law that created more oversight for the charitable gaming industry, which was estimated to produce $75 million in bets annually. The law requires the Attorney General's office to conduct background checks on operators and limits fees operators can charge charities. Charities are entitled to at least 35% of charitable gaming profits under the law.
Charitable groups must be registered with the New Hampshire Secretary of State and the New Hampshire Charitable Trust Division of the Attorney General's office for at least two years to run charitable gaming events.
Charitable gaming is so popular that many of the sites where the games can be offered have long waiting lists. Currently, there are over 70 charitable organizations operating games at Rockingham and Seabrook racetracks as well as other locations.