CONCORD, N.H. — Gambling supporters are hailing the newest, state committee-recommended casino proposal as New Hampshire’s last, best chance for expanded gaming. But the odds are, it might take at least another year.

Expanded gambling legislation has taken on a tone of immediacy this session after Massachusetts passed a law in November permitting three casinos and a slot parlor. Proponents in New Hampshire say this is the time to pass legislation, before Massachusetts corners the market and gambling stops taking such an interest in the state.

Soon, they say, New Hampshire will have all the ills of nearby gambling — with none of its benefits.

The majority leaders in both chambers say passage is possible in each, but a two-thirds majority is unlikely in the face of Gov. John Lynch’s promised veto.

House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt said a comfortable majority existed in the House, which has never passed expanded gambling legislation, but that was before Lynch drew his line in the sand. That threat “took a lot of wind out of the sails of a responsible expanded gaming proposal,” Bettencourt said.

With his position stated repeatedly and no upcoming elections to worry about, there are no signs that the final term governor will change his mind. The chance of a veto override is minimal.

So, what about the next governor?

Lawmakers’ opinions on gambling depend more heavily on conscience than party lines. Not so for the four announced candidates for governor. The line is already clearly drawn between the two sides, with Republicans opposed and Democrats in cautious favor.

Both Republican contenders pointed to their historical opposition to expanded gambling.

Although Ovide Lamontagne said he would use a “cost-benefit analysis” for any legislation that came to him, he expressed concerns about gambling’s effect on the New Hampshire advantage. His opponent for the Republican nomination, Kevin Smith, was even more outspoken.

Directly opposed to proponents’ chief argument of gambling as an economic engine, Smith said money from gambling would not result in sustainable growth.

“It’s unreliable revenue at best and … I have a firm philosophy government finds a way to expand to absorb revenue and then some,” he said.

Gambling proponents would need to look for support in the two Democratic candidates, who both say they would consider expanded gambling, albeit with restrictions.

Former Senator Majority Leader Maggie Hassan, a Democratic candidate, said she would support “highly-regulated, high end casinos,” but said the current proposition of four was too many.

Hassan — who supported gambling legislation while a state senator — said any expansion of gambling would require at least an equal amount of investment to what Massachusetts is currently requiring.

“It’s more important — if we’re going to do it — to do it right and protect the state instead of doing it too fast,” Hassan said.

Former state senator Jackie Cilley said she is open to expanded gambling. She acknowledged the differing opinions region to region by saying any gambling legislation would need “a good deal of local control.”

“Except for the revenues that flow into state coffers, the siting of a casino is a very local phenomenon,” Cilley said.

There are several areas eager for gambling. Towns across the state are angling for a chance at a casino, one of the reasons opponents say the latest bill doubled the proposed casinos from two to four. The bill allows for 14,000 slot machines and 420 table games.

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon recently expressed interest in operating a casino, and Salem has tried for years to get expanded gambling for Rockingham Park.

With its location over the Massachusetts border off Interstate-93, Salem would be the most likely choice for one of two 5,000-slot, 150-card table casino, according to many gambling proponents. One of the smaller, 2,000-slot, 60-card table casinos would go to an economically depressed area of the state such as Coos County or certain towns in Cheshire County.

As proponents are quick to point out, gambling already exists in New Hampshire in the form of limited charitable gaming, and residents part with an estimated $80 million annually at out-of-state casinos in New England.

The most recent opinion poll on gambling was done in April 2010 by the Granite State Poll for the Governor’s Gaming Commission Report.

The survey concluded there was modest support for expanded gambling in the state. Fifty-three percent of the 503 New Hampshire adults polled said they supported expanding gambling with resort-style casinos and 38 percent opposed it. The survey had a 4.4 percent margin of error.

Supporters say the numbers show New Hampshire wants gambling, and Bettencourt said he has hope the governor will change his mind.

But with the odds against them this session, supporters may need to wait for the next hand to be dealt.

 

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