Legal Status
Sports betting is not quite legal in the state of Connecticut, but it is very close.
Legislative Progress
In mid-March of 2021, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont got the ball rolling by agreeing to new tribal gaming compacts with the state’s two Indian tribes, the Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.
By late May, the House and Senate passed House Bill 6451, which gave Lamont the go-ahead to submit the amended tribal compacts to the Department of the Interior for approval. At that point, the state had done what it needed to do to legalize sports betting.
It was just up to the Department of the Interior to make it official.
Casino Participation
Connecticut does have two tribal casinos. Both will be allowed to operate a retail sportsbook, as well as, online/mobile platforms. The Mashantucket Pequot has already partnered with DraftKings, while Mohegan Sun has partnered with Kambi.
We’re changing the game with this! @DraftKings is now the Official Daily Fantasy Sports Partner of Foxwoods! Enjoy fantasy sports online and catch the game live at our place.
— Foxwoods Resort Casino (@FoxwoodsCT) December 14, 2020
Play now: https://t.co/WE50Jn0ruq pic.twitter.com/6JiUxvjx0t
Role Of The Lottery
Connecticut’s lottery will be involved in the state’s sports betting industry. It will get the third of three online skins the state has approved.
Along with the online sportsbook, the Lottery will operate 15 retail sportsbooks throughout the state and two of them will have to be in Bridgeport and Hartford. The Lottery can outsource those 15 retail locations to its off-track betting operator, Sport Tech, if it so chooses.
Professional Sports Team Involvement
Although there are no professional sports teams in the state of Connecticut, lobbyists from the NBA and MLB did testify in support of sports betting. However, they want to start to charge an integrity fee which would be paid back to the leagues.
Licensing
Two licenses will go to the tribal casinos, which will allow them to engage in retail and online/mobile sports betting. The third license will go to the Connecticut Lottery, allowing it to operate 15 retail locations and an online sportsbook.
These licenses will be good for ten years.
Retail betting will get taxed at a rate of 13.75 percent. Online/mobile sports betting will get taxed at a rate of 18 percent (which will go up to 20 percent after five years).
Expected Live Date
Upon passage of the necessary legislation, officials set a tentative launch date in early September, ahead of the start of the 2021 NFL season. While it is unclear if the state has a chance to pull that off, retail and online sports betting is expected to launch in Connecticut sometime in 2021.
Picture Credit: Google Creative Commons Licenses, Pixabay
