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Committee leans toward letting licensees run Keno during their hours; sponsor and lottery director discuss revenue and locations
Summary
Representative Brian Cole introduced House Bill 591 to change permitted Keno hours; the Lottery Director said licensees could operate during their hours and the committee instructed staff to draft an amendment to that effect.
Representative Brian Cole of Manchester introduced House Bill 591 to change hours for Keno sales, saying the bill is “very simple” and estimating modest additional revenue. Charlie McIntyre, the Lottery Director, testified and the committee indicated it would draft an amendment to allow licensed Keno operations during a licensee’s hours of operation rather than specify detailed weekday/weekend time windows.
“It's a very simple bill,” Representative Brian Cole said, noting anecdotal observations about people asking why Keno was not running and a sponsor estimate of “between 300 and 400,000 in revenue.”
Charlie McIntyre, Lottery Director, answered committee questions about hours and venues. McIntyre said there was “no reason” not to let licensees operate during their hours and described Keno’s sales profile: tickets are sold in both bars/restaurants and convenience stores, with the “vast majority of the sales happen in bars and taverns.” McIntyre also discussed broader revenue figures, saying, “Our original estimates were, I think, 48,000,000. I think last year it was 56,000,000 in profit, in gross revenues. It's about $1,314,000,000 in profitability.”
Committee members asked practical questions about maintenance downtime, night-shift players, and whether the game’s availability should be tied to a retailer’s hours. One committee member summarized the apparent consensus and said they would “draft an amendment that changes this to when the business is open, they can sell.” That draft amendment was described as making the rule self-limiting by a retailer’s hours of operation.
The record shows the bill had passed the House on consent and, in committee, received a reported 16–4 committee vote before arriving in this committee; the sponsor said it was voice-voted on the floor. The committee opened and closed the public hearing and then moved into executive session to consider an amendment; members later came out of executive session and adjourned.
