From the looks of it, Connecticut seems to be ready to finally move forward with its plans for an online gaming sector. This has been proven by a proposal to regulate online gambling activities including live and online sports betting which has been presented in the state’s January legislative session. The proposed bill is a bipartisan effort which is aimed at creating job opportunities, increasing revenue and is also expected to make the state as competitive as other states when it comes to tourism.
The bill further includes clauses that are meant to ensure that people located outside the state as well as minor are not allowed to participate in the gambling activities that will be offered by various operators once the online gaming sector goes live. Even so, the proposed measures are still bare bones since it is still at its earlier stages and therefore it does not include any clauses pertaining to bad actors or interstate partnerships. On the same note, the proposal does not give any details about the tax rates that will accompany the regulations that the gaming regulators will be subjected to.
Previous Attempts
Last year, lawmakers in the state managed to make some headway with regards to regulated online gambling but, unfortunately, the bill was never approved. Despite this, the legislators did put some serious considerations into online gaming regulations at the request of the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot Tribes, both of which currently operate their own casinos – the Mohegan Tribe operates the Mohegan Sun while the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe operates the Foxwoods Resorts Casino. For them, sports betting, online poker, and online casino games are currently the best opportunities to bring in more revenue.
Both tribes even went as far as joining forces for a joint casino operation in East Windsor but some complications arose due to conflicting interests from MGM which plans to set a casino in Bridgeport and is thus opposed to the tribes setting up their casino in East Windsor. MGM has threated to take legal action in case the East Windsor casino is approved which makes the situation even messier than it was.
Any Hopes This Year?
There is, of course, a lot that needs to be done to ensure that the state’s online gambling landscape finally becomes a reality. While the proposed bill does outline a number of important and vital developments, sports betting seems to have a better chance of getting approved primarily because the sector has had some victories in the recent past. The bill will still need to be fleshed out in greater detail to give both the lawmakers and the stakeholders deeper insight into what an online gambling and sports betting landscape would look like in the state.
