With the Massachusetts governor and legislative leaders having reached agreement about legalizing three slot casinos and one race track slots parlor, here's how the gambling debate in New Hampshire has changed:
 

Shrunken NH Gambling Market. The Massachusetts deal will quickly saturate central New England with slot casinos, seriously shrinking the New Hampshire gambling market, and making any New Hampshire casinos heavily dependent on in-state gamblers. Crime and addiction costs of New Hampshire casinos would therefore fall on taxpayers and families here.

Jobs & Revenues Taken From Existing Business. New Hampshire slot casinos would therefore far more seriously cannibalize revenues and jobs from existing New Hampshire businesses - such as restaurants, hotels, entertainment and cultural venues, and retailers.

NH Brand Image Damaged. The now smaller New Hampshire gambling market would relegate gambling here to convenience casinos, rather than the glitzy operations described by gambling lobbyists to lure those worried about New Hampshire's healthy, family-friendly image turning into a tawdry one. 

The House Liberty Vote. The wildcard in the New Hampshire House's historically strong opposition to slot casinos is the new GOP liberty caucus, many of whose members are freshmen who have so far heard only the free money and magic jobs promises from the gambling lobby. Here are three arguments we are hearing that casinos are anti-liberty: 

• Rather than expanding freedom to those who want to gamble or start gambling businesses, every casino proposal would hand slot machine monopolies to political insiders.
• Legalized casinos would only move consumer spending from the existing private economy into legislatively-sanctioned gambling monopolies.
• Gambling taxes never replace other taxes; they always increase total tax burden.