Sports is back, with the NBA, MLB and NHL all playing games to sports bettor’s delight. New Hampshire is finally in the position to benefit from all the action with it’s first retail sports betting location: The DraftKings Sportsbook at The Brook opened on August 12.
Seabrook, the lucky town hosting DraftKing, voted for the right to be a sports betting location. Now they have a 90,000 square foot facility with betting kiosks, video walls, and “The Stadium,” which offers couches, movie theater chairs, three cinema screens and hundreds of TVs to watch sports on.
“We built the Stadium at The Brook to be the best place to watch sports anywhere in New England,” said Andre Carrier, CEO, The Brook.
Eureka Casino Resorts, which operates the Brook, notes that due to the Covid-19 pandemic they will be following strict physical distancing standards, and hand sanitizing stations will be available. Anyone who visits will have to wear a mask, of course.
DraftKings has already been fairly successful in the state, offering mobile sports betting since December, 2019 and bringing in $65 million worth of bets in that time. “With more than 42,000 registered New Hampshire users, mobile sports betting is already attracting a new generation of players to the New Hampshire Lottery,” Carrier said. “The addition of The Brook’s retail sportsbook will only further support our efforts to maximize revenue for education in New Hampshire.”
The Seabrook location sets DraftKings up to do pretty well in the New England region. Not only is it the first retail location in the state, but it’s also just across the state line from Massachusetts, which does not yet have legal sports betting. Their only real competition is in Rhode Island, giving Boston residents the choice of driving either north or south to get their bets in.
Seabrook voted to approve the DraftKings location on March 10, just days before Covid-19 shut down all major sports. Pretty good timing that The DraftKings Sportsbook could be constructed and completed just in time for sports to come back, and just shortly before the NFL is expected to try launching their season.
