CHAPTER Lot 3000  RULES FOR SPORTS WAGERING

 

PART Lot 3001  PURPOSE AND SCOPE

 

Lot 3001.02  Purpose.  The purpose of this chapter is to prescribe the requirements for the utilization of the sports wagering platforms offered by the New Hampshire lottery commission pursuant to RSA 287-I.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3001.01  Scope.  This chapter shall apply to all members of the general public wishing to place a sports wager in New Hampshire.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

PART Lot 3002  DEFINITIONS

 

Lot 3002.01  “Agent” means “agent” as defined in RSA 287-I:1, I, namely “a party who is authorized by contract or agreement with the commission to conduct a sports book”.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3002.02  “Authorized sports bettor” means “authorized sports bettor” as defined in RSA 287-I,1, II, namely “an individual 18 years of age or older who is physically present in the state of New Hampshire when placing a sports wager with the commission or an authorized agent of the commission and is not a prohibited sports bettor.”

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3002.03  “Betting ticket” means a physical or electronic document containing a unique identification code representing a wager that was placed, received and accepted by a betting system operated by an agent, and authorized by the commission.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3002.04  “Commission” means the New Hampshire lottery commission established pursuant to RSA 284:21-a, or its designated staff having authority to perform administrative and clerical functions for the commission.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3002.05  “Prohibited sports bettor” means “prohibited sports bettor” as defined by RSA 287-I:1, X, namely:

 

“(a)  Any member or employee of the commission and any spouse, child, sibling, or parent residing in the same household as a member or employee of the commission.

 

(b)  Any principal or employee of any agent.

 

(c)  Any contractor of the commission or its agents when such contract relates to the conduct of sports wagering.

 

(d)  Any contractor or employee of an entity that conducts sports wagering in another jurisdiction when the bettor possesses confidential nonpublic information as a result of his or her contract or employment relating to the wager being placed.

 

(e)  Any amateur or professional athlete if the sports wager is based in whole or part on a sport or athletic event overseen by the athlete's governing sports body.

 

(f)  Any sports agent, owner or employee of a team, player, umpire, referee, coach, union official, or official of a sports governing body if the sports wager is based in whole or part on a sport or athletic event overseen by the governing body which oversees the individual's sport.

 

(g)  Any individual placing a wager as an agent of or proxy for a prohibited sports bettor.

 

(h)  Any person under the age of 18.”

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3002.06 “Prohibited sports event” means “prohibited sports event” as defined by RSA 287-I:1, XI, namely:

 

“(a)  A collegiate sports event in which one of the participants is a collegiate team of a college institution that is primarily located in New Hampshire;

 

(b)  A collegiate sports event that takes place in New Hampshire;

 

(c)  Any high school sports event in any location;

 

(d)  Any amateur sports event where the participants are primarily under the age of 18; provided that ‘prohibited sports event’ does not include the games of a collegiate sports tournament in which a New Hampshire college team participates, nor does it include any games of a collegiate sports tournament that occurs outside New Hampshire even though some of the individual games or events are held in New Hampshire; and provided further that sports wagers are permitted on collegiate sports tournament games in which a New Hampshire college team participates only if the outcome of the wager is based on the outcome of all games within the tournament.”

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3002.07  “Sports wagering” means “sports wagering” as defined in RSA 287-I:1, XV, namely “wagering on sporting events or any portion thereof, or on the individual performance statistics of athletes participating in a sports event, or combination of sports events, by any system or method of wagering, including but not limited to in person communication and electronic communication through Internet websites accessed via a mobile device or computer and mobile device applications.  The term sports wagering shall include, but not be limited to, single game bets, teaser bets, parlays, over-under bets, money line bets, pools, exchange wagering, in game wagering, in-play bets, proposition bets, and straight bets”.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

PART Lot 3003  WAGERING RULES

 

Lot 3003.01  Sports Bettors.

 

(a)  In accordance with RSA 287-I:1, II an individual authorized to place a sports wager shall be:

 

(1)  Physically present in the state of New Hampshire when placing a sports wager; and

 

(2)  Eighteen years of age or older.

 

(b)  Individuals under the age of 18 shall be prohibited from creating a wagering account, wagering, and collecting winning wagers.

 

(c)  Pursuant to RSA 287-I:10, III, any wagers placed from outside of the state of New Hampshire shall be considered null and void.

 

(d)  In accordance with RSA 287-I:10, I, no wagers shall be knowingly accepted or paid by any agent to a prohibited sports bettor as defined by RSA 287-I:1, X and Lot 3002.05 above.

 

(e)  All accepted and processed wagers shall be deemed to have been accepted from the individual placing the wager only, and not on behalf of any entity.

 

(f)  No agent or employee of an agent shall accept a wager from a person who the agent or employee knows or reasonably should know is placing the wager in violation of state or federal law.

 

(g)  In the event that there is a dispute as to whether an individual is deemed a prohibited sports bettor, the commission shall make a final determination on the eligibility of the individual to wager.

 

(h)  Such determination shall:

 

(1)  Be based on the definition of prohibited sports better as defined in Lot 3002.05; and

 

(2)  Be applicable to all agents within the State.

 

(i)  Each agent shall report to the commission any information, including names and ages, relative to the individuals reasonably known to them to be prohibited from betting on sports, so that such information can be used by the commission to create a central database such individuals. 

 

(j)  Information housed on the central database described in (i) above shall be deemed confidential, and not be subject to requests for documents pursuant to RSA 91-A.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3003.02  General Wagering Rules.

 

(a)  Wagers shall only be placed through agents authorized by contract or agreement with the commission to conduct sports wagering.

 

(b)  The commission shall only approve wagers on categories of events where:

 

(1)  The outcome can be verified;

 

(2)  The outcome can be generated by a reliable and independent process; and

 

(3)  The event is conducted in conformity with applicable laws.

 

(c)  Sporting events shall be deemed reliable and verifiable if:

 

(1)  They are governed by established sports governing bodies, such as the NBA, NFL, and NCAA, with a history of integrity, and

 

(2)  The outcome is established through a clear set of rules and procedures of the applicable governing body, which are well known to the sports betting public.

 

(d)  Each agent shall adopt, conspicuously display at its authorized premises, and adhere to written, comprehensive house rules governing wagering transactions with patrons.

 

(e)  The house rules shall include at a minimum:

 

(1)  The method for calculation and payment of winning wagers;

 

(2)  The effect of schedule changes for a sports event;

 

(3)  The method of notifying bettors of odds or proposition changes;

 

(4)  Acceptance of wagers at terms other than those posted;

 

(5)  Expiration dates for winning tickets;

 

(6)  Circumstances under which the agent will void a bet;

 

(7)  Treatment of errors, late bets, and related contingencies;

 

(8)  Method of contacting the agents or vendor for questions or complaints;

 

(9)  Description of those persons who are prohibited from wagering with the agents if broader than the prohibited bettors list set forth in this chapter; and

 

(10)  The method and location for posting and publishing the approved house rules.

 

(f)  Except as otherwise provided in law and rules, all transactions shall be governed by the house rules of the agent with whom the wager was placed.

 

(g)  Once a wager is accepted by both parties, the betting ticket shall not be altered or voided except with the approval of both parties, such as when a bettor accepts a cash out option offered by the agent.

 

(h)  Once a part of a multi-event wager has commenced, no refunds or changes to the wager shall be permitted except with the approval of both parties, such as when a bettor accepts a cash out option offered by the agent.

 

(i)  The authorized sports bettor shall be responsible for checking his or her betting tickets for accuracy.

 

(j)  No winning wager shall be paid without the customer copy of the betting ticket.

 

(k)  The commission and its agents shall not be responsible for:

 

(1)  Lost, stolen, altered or unreadable betting tickets;

 

(2)  Paying winning tickets resulting from any system or terminal malfunction; and

 

(3)  Wagers not placed due to a system or terminal malfunction.

 

(l)  The commission and its agents shall not be responsible for honoring wagers that were accepted as a result of material human or technical error such as odds or terms that are substantially different from other betting markets on the same event, or odds or terms that are clearly incorrect or inaccurate on their face.

 

(m)  Betting tickets shall be void if lost, stolen, unissued, mutilated, illegible, defective or incomplete.

 

(n)  Wagers shall only be made in accordance with the payment methods specified in RSA 287-I:8.

 

(o)  Pursuant to RSA 287-I:10, II, no wagers shall be accepted or paid by any agent for prohibited sports events as defined by RSA 287-I:1, XI and Lot 3002.06 above.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3003.03  Payment of Winning Wagers.

 

(a)  Payment on a winning wager shall only be made to the person who presents the betting ticket with the winning wager or directly through a player’s wagering account when the wagering system determines that the player had a winning wager.

 

(b)  An agent shall not make payment on a winning wager to a person who the agent or employee of the agent knows or reasonably should know is collecting the payment on behalf of another for monetary consideration or in violation of federal law or these rules.

 

(c)  An agent may withhold payment of a winning wager if the patron refuses to supply identification or any other documentation required by state or federal law.

 

(d)  Winning wagers shall be void one year from the date of the conclusion of the event, or the conclusion of the last event on a multi-event wager.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3003.04  Unclaimed Winnings and Abandoned Accounts.  Unclaimed winnings and abandoned accounts shall be subject to the following requirements:

 

(a)  Unclaimed winnings of over 90 days following the claim period shall be accounted for as gross gaming revenue and allocated in accordance with the agent’s agreements with the commission;

 

(b)  In accordance with RSA 471-C:2, I, player accounts that remain inactive and unclaimed by the owner for more than 5 years shall be presumed abandoned;

 

(c)  Abandoned player accounts under this rule, shall be subject to the state of New Hampshire abandoned property laws, RSA 471-C; and

 

(d)  No agent shall charge administration or maintenance fees for any inactive player account derived from state of New Hampshire residents at any time for any reason.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3003.05  Problem Gambling and Self-exclusion.

 

(a)  Each agent shall post and make readily available to its patrons a copy of its responsible gaming plan, which shall include:

 

(1)  Materials related to problem gaming, resources available to patrons expressing concerns about problem gaming;

 

(2)  House-imposed player limits; and

 

(3)  Options available for patrons to self-exclude from wagering.

 

(b)  Each agent shall report to the commission any information, including names, relative to the individuals on its self-exclusion list, so that such information can be used by the commission to create a central database of such individuals.  

 

(c)  Information housed on the central database described in (c) above deemed confidential, and such information shall not be subject to requests for documents pursuant to RSA 91-A.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

PART Lot 3004  DISPUTES

 

Lot 3004.01  Agent’s Dispute Process.

 

(a)  Each agent shall publish a dispute process and make such publication generally available to the sports wagering public;

 

(b)  A patron who is dissatisfied with any matter relating to sports wagering may utilize the agent’s grievance process.

 

(c)  A patron may file a grievance with the agent either orally or in writing.

 

(d)  The agent shall notify the authorized sports bettor of the disposition of grievances either orally or in writing for grievances within 30 days of the grievance being filed.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 

Lot 3004.02  Commission Dispute Process.

 

(a)  In the event that a dispute cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the patron, the patron may file a complaint with the commission accordance with Lot 204.

 

(b)  An authorized sports bettor shall exhaust the agent’s grievance process prior to filing a complaint with the commission.

 

(c)  The commission shall conduct all investigations and subsequent actions in accordance with Lot 200.

 

(d)  The decision of the commission shall be final, and not subject to appeal.

 

Source.  #13041, eff 5-9-20

 


 

 

 

APPENDIX A

RULE

SPECIFIC STATE STATUTE THE RULE IMPLEMENTS

Lot 3001

RSA 287-I:2

Lot 3002

RSA 287-I:1

Lot 3003

RSA 287-I:1; RSA 287-I:2; RA 287-I:10; and RSA 287-I:17

Lot 3004

RSA 287-I:1; RSA 287-I:2; RA 287-I:10; and RSA 287-I:17