Enfield
Both the Enfield and Newport selectboards voted on Jan. 8 to place warrant articles addressing keno on their spring Town Meeting ballots, with the majorities of both boards deciding that residents should determine the fate of the controversial game.
The Enfield board split, 2-1, on whether to allow the game to be voted on in March. Board members Fred Cummings and John Kluge voted in favor, while Meredith Smith was opposed.
Town Manager Ryan Aylesworth said no officials spoke in favor of the game, but instead decided voters should be given the opportunity to have their voices heard.
The fundamental question facing the board was “should the townsfolk be able to make the decision for themselves?” he said.
But Smith said on Tuesday that she couldn’t support a measure that might lead to expanded gambling. She said keno “preys on the poor” and those least capable of recovering from gambling losses.
“I had to vote my conscience, but I certainly am a big supporter of full-day kindergarten,” she said. “I just think that we need a better way to pay for it, and gambling isn’t it.”
Keno is played through self-service machines where players pay a minimum of $1 per card and pick 12 numbers out of 80. Drawings are held every 5 minutes, with winning numbers displayed on a monitor.
Money collected from keno is expected to contribute to full-day kindergarten programs across New Hampshire, under the law signed last year, with an estimated $8.4 million in first-year revenue projected to go into an education trust fund.
However, towns and cities that do not allow keno are still eligible to receive those funds.
In Newport, Selectboard members Jeffrey Kessler, Todd Fratzel, William Wilmont Jr., and Barry Connell all voted to advance keno to the ballot, while John Hooper II was absent from the meeting.
“We felt the citizens should have the opportunity to vote on it,” Kessler, the chairman, said on Tuesday. “The determination was to present it to the voters and let them decide.”
Both votes came just a few days after the Lebanon City Council voted, 7-2, against placing a keno measure on its March ballot.
The majority of councilors argued that extending gambling to the city could place a higher burden on problem gamblers, who are more likely to come from senior or low-income populations.
Officials also were skeptical that efforts to fund addiction treatment programs would be successful, and pointed to the state’s failure to fully contribute to its Alcohol Fund, which is earmarked to help prevent and treat alcohol abuse.
The law that established keno in the Granite State calls for 1 percent of the game’s proceeds to be set aside for prevention and treatment services for problem gamblers. New Hampshire’s Lottery Commission also donates $25,000 annually to the New Hampshire Council on Problem Gambling, which is dedicated to helping the state’s estimated 22,000 residents suffering from gambling addiction.
Lebanon was the second community in New Hampshire to decline a keno vote, following the Seacoast city of Portsmouth.
Eleven other towns and cities across the state have voted on the lottery game, with seven — including Claremont — deciding to offer the game.
So far, only two establishments in that city — Sweet Fire BBQ and Time-Out Americana Grill — are offering the game, according to the lottery website.
It’s not clear how many establishments in Newport or Enfield would want to offer the game to customers.
Keno can only be played in restaurants and bars with a liquor license, according to the state Lottery Commission. Participating businesses pay a $500 annual licensing fee and in turn are allowed to keep 8 percent of the game’s proceeds.
Tim Covell, president of the American Legion Post 25 in Newport, said some members have asked about offering keno but the group has yet to take any stance on the game.
The 56 Main Street Bar & Grill in Enfield also has considered keno, owner Marjon Licks said on Tuesday. But she did not say whether the business has made a decision on whether it would offer the game.
Under state law, any community that puts keno on its ballot must hold a public hearing prior to the vote.
Although one hasn’t been scheduled yet in Enfield, Aylesworth, the town manager, said a hearing likely will take place early in February. Enfield’s Town Meeting is scheduled for March.
The Newport hearing likely will take place on April 16, because of the community’s May Town Meeting schedule, said Paul Brown, Newport’s finance director and assistant town administrator.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.