New Hampshire Statewide Rule

New Hampshire Charitable Gaming Halls Licensed Statewide

Significant RestrictionsApplies statewide across New Hampshire (2026)

Key Facts

License duration: 10 days per year, need not be consecutive
Enforcing agency: NH Lottery Commission, AG, and local police
Operating hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. the following day
Minimum age: 18, except at carnivals
Games-of-chance wager cap: $2,500 per game, buy-ins and re-buys included
Historic horse racing wager cap: $25 per terminal wager
Historic horse racing commission cap: 12 percent maximum, per RSA 284:22-b

Last verified: August 21, 2026

Summary

New Hampshire lets nonprofits and veterans' groups run licensed "casino night" games of chance, poker, blackjack, roulette, for up to 10 days a year under RSA 287-D, with the Lottery Commission, attorney general, and local police enforcing licensing, hours, and age limits. The same licensed halls now sell wagers on historic horse racing terminals under RSA 284:22-b, capping individual bets at $25 and the house's pari-mutuel commission at 12 percent.

A charitable organization may conduct games of chance to promote the purpose for which it was organized, and shall be licensed as provided in this chapter. ... Only one license shall be issued to each applicant per year to operate games of chance for 10 days, which 10 days need not be consecutive. ... Games of chance may be conducted between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. the following day. No one under the age of 18 years shall be admitted to the premises on which games of chance are being conducted, except when the games are being conducted at a carnival. Each player may spend up to $2,500 per game including buy-ins and re-buys.

View official code

Full Breakdown

RSA 287-D authorizes a charitable organization to run games of chance "to promote the purpose for which it was organized", but only after licensing (RSA 287-D:4, I). The New Hampshire Lottery Commission issues the license, and under RSA 287-D:2 it enforces the chapter jointly with the attorney general and the police chief of whatever city or town hosts the games. A charitable organization gets one license per year, covering exactly 10 days of play that don't have to be consecutive (RSA 287-D:6). Most charities don't run their own hall, they contract with a licensed "game operator employer," the commercial casino-night business that owns the tables, dealers, and building.

RSA 287-D:4-a requires each of those facility operators to hold at least 7 and no more than 10 game dates a year, and on those dates the host town or city collects revenue at the same rate a licensed charity would, with no rent or fee owed back to the operator. the next day, nobody under 18 is admitted except at carnivals, and a single player can spend up to $2,500 per game counting buy-ins and re-buys. Since 2021, the same licensed facilities have branched into a second product: historic horse racing terminals.

RSA 284:22-b lets a game operator employer already licensed under RSA 287-D sell pari-mutuel pools on replays of past horse races at that same licensed building. A terminal wager is capped, "shall not accept a wager in excess of $25", and the operator's cut is capped too, at "not greater than 12 percent," with leftover breakage funding problem-gambling services. Through July 1, 2031 that historic-racing license is limited to operators who already held a 287-D game operator employer license as of May 1, 2020, or who applied between January 1 and October 15, 2023; after that date any licensed 287-D operator can add it.

Violations & Penalties

Operating games of chance without a license is a misdemeanor for an individual, a felony for any other person, and each day of illegal play is a separate offense (RSA 287-D:23, I-II). A game operator who fails to pay a charity what it's owed is a class B felony under $500 and a class A felony above it, and the charity can sue for 2-3 times actual damages plus fees. The Commission also levies fines of $25 to $5,000 per violation and can revoke a license.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can any nonprofit in New Hampshire run a casino night?

Only a charitable organization licensed by the NH Lottery Commission under RSA 287-D, and only to promote the purpose it was organized around. The group gets one license per year good for exactly 10 days of games of chance, poker, blackjack, roulette, and similar games, which don't need to run back-to-back. Running games without that license is a misdemeanor for a person or a felony for an organization.

Who actually runs the tables at these charity casino nights?

Usually a licensed "game operator employer": a commercial gaming company that leases the space, deals the games, and pays the sponsoring charity its share, separately licensed under RSA 287-D:8 and :9. RSA 287-D:4-a requires each of these facility operators to hold 7 to 10 game dates a year, and the host town or city collects the same revenue rate a charity would, with no rent owed back to the operator.

What are historic horse racing terminals, and are they legal in NH?

Yes, since a 2021 law added RSA 284:22-b. It lets a business already licensed as a RSA 287-D game operator employer sell pari-mutuel wagers on replays of past horse races inside that same licensed facility. Each terminal wager is capped at $25, the operator can keep no more than 12 percent of the pool as commission, and leftover breakage funds problem-gambling treatment services.

What happens if a game operator doesn't pay the charity its cut?

It's a crime under RSA 287-D:23, V, a class B felony if the shortfall is under $500 and a class A felony above that. The charity can also sue civilly and recover two to three times its actual damages plus attorney's fees for a purposeful or knowing underpayment, on top of whatever fine or license action the Lottery Commission imposes.

Sources

See something wrong?

Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.