目前博彩行业扩张在全美国各州州议会都是一个热门议题。就在周三，新罕布什尔州立法者投票反对一项赌场扩张计划，州议会完全否决了这个博彩议案。
这一挫败对过去一年里竭尽全力进行游说试图通过议案的亲博彩组织是一个沉重的打击。新罕布什尔州在博彩行业方面落后于宾夕法尼亚州和马里兰州，但是周三提出的议案时州立法者无法接受的。
“这个议案的问题在于它让本来属于州纳税人的宝贵财富流进赌场的无底深渊”议员尼尔表示。专家曾今预测议院会驳回195-154号议案。民主党议员是该议案的强硬反对者，近半的民主党议员投了反对票，现在，亲博彩的议员们不得不等上至少一年才能再次提出类似议案。
“我们对议会的决议很失望，这对众多新罕布什尔州的博彩支持者也是打击， 博彩许可意味着数以千计的高新职位和高额利税收入”能从博彩许可中获益的一家公司如是说。
博彩议案失败恶化了新罕布什尔州与整个东北地区博彩行业的关系，今年早些时候马萨诸塞州的立法者通过了博彩合法化，这使得新罕布什尔州处于使亿万财富流失到邻近州的地位。
译文：
Casino Gambling Movement Takes A Step Back In New Hampshire
Casino gambling expansion is one of the hottest contested issues in statehouses all across the US this session. On Wednesday, New Hampshire legislators took their turn voting on a casino expansion plan, and lawmakers in the House soundly defeated the gaming bill.
The defeat was a blow to pro-gaming groups that lobbied heavily the issue over the past year. New Hampshire has fallen behind states such as Pennsylvania and Maryland when it comes to casino gambling, but the proposed plan on the table Wednesday was not one that lawmakers could endorse.
”The problem with this bill is that it gives away to the gambling and casino interests a valuable asset that really belongs to the taxpayers of New Hampshire,” said Representative Neal Kurk.
The vote actually ended up being closer than some experts had predicted, with the House defeating the bill 195-154. House Democrats were the lawmakers that determined the fate of the legislation, with Democrats voting nearly two-to-one against the bill. Now, pro-gaming lawmakers will have to wait at least another year before the gambling issue is re-examined.
”We are disappointed with the House outcome that some continue to block what a significant majority of New Hampshire citizens support, which is thousands of well-paying jobs and hundreds of millions of non-taxpayer revenue brought by permitting casino gambling,” said Rich Killion, a consultant for Millenium Gaming, one of the four companies that stood to gain a new gaming license had the bill passed.
The timing for the defeat of the casino bill could not have been worse for New Hampshire in relation to the gaming industry as a whole in the Northeast. Massachusetts lawmakers legalized casinos earlier this year, and that has left New Hampshire in a position of losing hundreds of millions of dollars that residents of the state will now be taking to neighboring states.