In just over two weeks, legal sports betting revenue in New Hampshire amounted to millions of dollars. While the state doesn’t keep all of that, it’s a strong start despite the challenges.
The $15.8 million in wagers on DraftKings in New Hampshire will mostly end up right back in bettors’ wallets, but the state’s take is significant. That’s mostly because of New Hampshire’s deal with DraftKings.
The details on New Hampshire sports betting revenue
The $15.8 million in handle figure came out courtesy of New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s Twitter account on Tuesday, Jan. 14. DraftKings, the only legal sportsbook in the Granite State right now, confirmed his figures.
Sununu said over 27,000 new users placed 750,000 separate wagers from Dec. 30 to the time of his tweet. It’s unclear right now how much of the $15.8 million in handle translated to actual win for DraftKings.
Regardless of how much it was, New Hampshire will get a hefty slice. DraftKings effectively pays the state half of its revenue from bets made in the Granite State.
It’s important to note the difference between handle and revenue in this situation. Handle is the amount of money bettors put down. Revenue is the amount of money left after DraftKings pays out winnings to those bettors.
Therefore, the state gets half of what’s left over after bettors collect their winnings. Initial projections by the state pegged that number at $7.5 million for the current calendar year.
That’s somewhat dependent on maintaining this pace, however. More early returns point toward that being the case.
Super Bowl LIV was a great day for New Hampshire, too
Sununu took to Twitter again the day after Super Bowl LIV, repeating his excitement on New Hampshire sports betting. According to the governor, New Hampshire residents and visitors wagered over $2.3 million on the game.
While that’s a great total for any single sporting event, there’s a downside to that number. It’s likely the high-water mark for the year.
DraftKings is likely to see a sharp downturn over the next few weeks as the sports calendar hits a bit of a lull. The middle of March should see a bump as the NCAA basketball championship tournaments transpire.
The fact is that DraftKings will be hard-pressed to replicate these numbers until the next college football and NFL seasons commence. While basketball tends to see more total wagers, no sport commands the dollars that football does in terms of betting.
DraftKings won’t be content to just punt a third of the year in New Hampshire, however. To have a great 2020, it needs an assist.
Boston’s professional sports teams could really help out
Fortunately for Boston-based DraftKings, two of the other organizations in that city are doing well. Those are the Boston Bruins and Celtics.
The Bruins are sitting atop the NHL’s Atlantic Division with 78 points. The Celtics’ .700 winning percentage has them third in the NBA’s Eastern Conference right now.
If both teams are able to maintain those positions and make deep playoff runs, that would be a win for DraftKings in New Hampshire. If the Boston Red Sox can exceed expectations, even better.
While the future is uncertain, the first few weeks of legal wagering in New Hampshire were strong. The question is how much of that momentum will carry over to the football offseason.
