New Hampshire presents “an exciting opportunity” says Churchill Downs, after sealing a definitive agreement to acquire Chasers Poker Room.
The charitable gaming venue located in Salem, approximately 30 minutes from downtown Boston, debuted in 2017 and offers poker as well as a variety of table games.
In 2021, New Hampshire authorised existing charitable gaming operators to offer historical horse racing at licensed facilities. Upon closing, CDI plans to develop an expanded charitable gaming facility to accommodate historical racing machines.
This will see the purchase swell CDI’s HRM operations to a fourth state, building upon its current footprint in Kentucky as well as pending venues in Virginia, upon closing of the pending acquisition of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, including its affiliated Rosie’s Gaming Emporium HRM facilities, and Louisiana, upon expansion into the company’s 14 existing off track betting facilities.
Closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur during the second quarter of the year, is dependent on customary closing conditions, including approvals from the New Hampshire Lottery Commission.
Under New Hampshire law, a portion of revenue from charitable gaming operations is allocated to nonprofit organisations licensed in the state.
“New Hampshire is an exciting opportunity for us, one that allows us to put our historical racing machine expertise to work in the growing New England market,” said Bill Carstanjen, Chief Executive Officer of CDI.
“We look forward to sharing more about our plans to build an expanded, state-of-the-art gaming facility in Salem in the coming months.”
Last month, CDI disclosed its intention to withdraw from the B2C online sports betting and igaming space over the course of the next six months.
The operator states that the decision has been made as it does not see a path that the business model delivers predictable and acceptable margins “for at least several years”.
