New Hampshire Poker Sites [Complete 2024 Guide]

New Hampshire has long embraced the gambling industry, and in 1964, it became the first U.S. state to establish a state lottery. Although Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, had introduced its lottery three decades earlier, New Hampshire was the pioneer on the mainland.

Initially known as the “New Hampshire Sweepstakes,” the lottery’s winning numbers were determined by horse races at Salem’s Rockingham Park, rather than the traditional method of drawing numbers from a bowl. This unique approach meant the lottery’s winning numbers coincided with the winning horses in these races.

Another game of chance saw a significant advancement in 2019 when New Hampshire authorized land-based sports betting. Ten retail sportsbooks across the state opened for business legally in a short amount of time.

Additionally, to connect the previous two events, DraftKings, an online sportsbook, teamed up with the New Hampshire Lottery to launch the state’s first sportsbook in Manchester, New Hampshire. In October 2020, the NH Lottery appointed its first director of sports wagering.

However, this state isn’t just for lottery and sports bet enthusiasts. Thankfully, there is a sizable range of land-based poker venues available to locals as well. Eight casinos with licenses and 114 active poker tables are listed on Wolrdcasinodirectory.com; this is a respectable “spread” for a state with 1.3 million residents.

Famous Poker Players from New Hampshirite

Howard Lederer was born in Concord, New Hampshire. In the course of his career, he won over $6.5 million in live tournaments. He also had appearances on NBC Heads-up Championship, High Stakes Poker, and Poker After Dark, three of the most venerable poker TV programs (which he won in 2007). Additionally, he has won the WSOP gold bracelet twice.

Sadly, none of the aforementioned accomplishments are what the majority of poker players recognize him for. Rather, it was his role as a Full Tilt manager in the unlawful money mismanagement controversy that led to the poker room’s second closure following the infamous Black Friday events in 2011.

The younger sister of Lederer, Annie Duke (whose maiden name is unmistakably Lederer), is also a highly successful poker player. In live competitions, she has earned $4.270 million in winnings, including one WSOP title. She stopped playing poker professionally in 2012. She was the spokesman for UltimateBet, a poker site that was also affected by Black Friday’s closure.

On Hendon, neither of the siblings is, however, identified as a New Hampshire player. Thus, a man called Dan Chalifour from Spofford, New Hampshire, tops the state’s all-time wealth list on the website with $741,666 in career earnings. He earned $88,930 for finishing eighth in the $3,500 No Limit Hold’em WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in April 2019. That represents his career’s largest single live tournament winnings to date.

Online Poker Games in New Hampshire

Legislation for live poker in New Hampshire

Games of chance are covered in Section 287-D of the Criminal Laws of New Hampshire. It begins by enumerating all of the state’s prohibited forms of gambling and the potential penalties that may apply; but, in the end, in Section 287-D-31, it also makes room for exceptions.

The first and most crucial one is “Dispenser devices approved by the commission that are situated at the regular meeting location of, or at a property owned, leased, or used by, a nonprofit organization licensed under RSA 287-E:20.”

Additionally, they let cruise ships with casinos on board to dock and serve residents of the state for no longer than 48 hours. The June 2019 bill also allowed sports betting in 10 locations, as we stated in our introduction, in addition to these exceptions.

The New Hampshire Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority is in charge of licensing and regulating gambling businesses.

Places to Play Live Poker in New Hampshire

A respectable number of cash games are available in the poker area at The Brook Casino in Seabrook, New Hampshire. No Limit Hold’em is available for stakes of $1/$2, $2/$5, and $5/$10, and a mixed game table is available for stakes of $2/$4.

They offer daily NLHE tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $30 to $100.

The Chasers Poker Room and Casino is situated in Salem, New Hampshire, a historical city. There, you can play NLHE cash games for stakes of $1/$2, $2/$5, and $5/$10, Limit Hold’em for stakes of $3/$6, and PLO for stakes of $2/$2 and $5/$10. A NLHE/PLO mixed game table with $2/$5 blinds is also available. You can earn up to $1,500 every hour with their generous high hand promotions that they run!

If you’re in New Hampshire, you may also play poker at the Filotimo Casino & DraftKings Sports Book in Manchester, New Hampshire, or the Lebanon Poker Room in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Online Poker in New Hampshire

Real money sports wagers can now be placed online thanks to the 2019 sports betting act. That is unquestionably a positive start that can inspire all New Hampshire poker players.

Unfortunately, playing poker or casino games online is now illegal in the state. Therefore, if you reside in New Hampshire and want to play on any poker platforms (ClubGG Poker, BetOnline or any other) your only option is to play using methods used by the majority of Americans, such as using VPNs or unregulated grey-market apps.