Among the nonprofits that have received donations from casino gambling is the Krempels Brain Injury Center. Seen here are staff member Kelly Redwine-DePierre, right, with a center member during a painting event. (Photo Courtesy of Krempels Brain Injury Center)
While other states have charitable gaming activities like bingo halls and raffles, they are not set up as casinos with three-way revenue sharing. New Hampshire is the only state with a casino industry based on the charitable gaming business model, where a portion of revenue goes to charities and the state.
Under current law, charities receive 35% of the revenue from table games and 8.75% from historic horse racing machines, and the state takes 10% and 16.5% respectively. The remaining profit goes to casino operators.
There are various legislative and budget proposals in play this legislative session, which ends in June. The intent varies, with some designed to shift money away from charities and move more into the state coffers.
The action charities have taken to protect a major revenue stream illustrates how they’ve become a powerful lobbying force for NH’s casino industry.
Their most significant victory in the current session was the defeat of HB 531, voted inexpedient to legislate on March 6. The bill would have capped each charity’s take at $50,000, when some are now making nearly three times as much. Instead of going to charities, the extra dollars would be redirected to the state lottery commission.
A note in the bill estimated that capping charity gaming revenue at $50,000 would bring in an extra $18.6 million a year for the state lottery, with much of that money going to the Education Trust Fund.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Richard Ames, D-Jaffery, says he is concerned that charities are becoming too reliant on the funds, and there is no equitable way to distribute the wealth.
“As the stakes go up, it becomes a highly valued thing for the charities that are in, and the question then becomes, there are only so many sites and a lot more charities,” says Ames.
Ames says the nonprofit issue was a major topic of discussion at a commission meeting last summer. “Some say let casino operators do it, but I think that’s a bad idea as a public policy matter,” he says. “It’s inviting favoritism and ultimately something worse. It’s very difficult; you’ve got people with vested interests now and it gets more difficult every day, with more money going to a particular charity, they won’t want to give it away.”
Krempels Brain Injury Center in Portsmouth received more than $150,000 through the center’s partnership with the Brook in 2024, and hopes to do better this year, says Executive Director Cariann Daley.
She organized a group of charities that opposed HB 531 and other bills in the current session that would have diluted the charity share. “We did a lot of advocacy on the part of two bills that failed,” says Daley. “I pulled together the 13 charities that receive money from The Brook and we collaborated our efforts with letter writing and an online testimony campaign.”
Some Krempels staffers showed up in person. “We made the point that we are not an organization coming in for or against gaming, but this is an important revenue stream for us. It’s the largest single piece of funding we get, and from an organizational point of view not having it would be a real financial hardship.”
Granite YMCA, with seven locations in the state, received $143,996 for its 10-day association with the Gate City Casino in Nashua.
“We do an annual fundraising campaign and as part of that we were introduced by a volunteer who knew the folks at Gate City,” says CEO Michele Sheppard. “An introduction was made, they liked our profile and what we do to serve youth and families, so we were selected.”
Sheppard says the money goes into a fund that provides financial assistance for individuals who would otherwise not be able to afford the organization’s services like child care, overnight camp and health-related programs.
When asked if the organization has any reservations about relying on funding from an activity that contributes to gambling addiction, Sheppard was candid. “I will tell you I have my own moral concerns about that. At the Granite YMCA, we have internally discussed this as an organization and there are obviously various opinions about these dollars and where they come from. But we know that [gambling] is an individual choice and having that money come back to the community means individuals and their children can come to the Y and have access to children’s programs and day care. If it wasn’t there, we’d figure out another way to make that happen, but since it is available it helps us to broaden opportunities to others.”
Casino investors point to the state’s model of charitable gambling as presenting an opportunity to do good in the communities they serve while also operating a profitable business.
Andre Carrier and his partner Greg Lee, both NH natives, left Las Vegas careers to establish The Brook, branded as “America’s largest charity casino,” a title that may now be in dispute with The Nash. “When we came back in 2016, we thought the charitable gaming construct was divined,” says Carrier. “You’re going to let us pay and work directly with charities every day out of top line revenue. We get to select them, get to know who they are, get to work with them, and work on giving effectively.” The same sentiment was stated repeatedly by other operators.
