The Connecticut Lottery Corporation’s (CT Lottery) Board of Directors, Chair Rob Simmelkjaer and President and CEO Greg Smith, has released a statement regarding Governor Ned Lamont’s landmark agreement between the state and its two tribal nations on sports betting and online gaming.
Lamont and the Chairmen of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes announced that they’ve reached a gaming agreement that will allow the tribes and the CT Lottery to provide sports wagering and online gambling in the Constitution State.
The board stated: “We offer our congratulations to Governor Lamont and our state’s two tribal nations on this momentous agreement that will bring Connecticut’s gaming landscape into the 21st century.
“We’re pleased that the agreement would allow the Connecticut Lottery to modernize our business through online sales of some existing lottery games, and to grow our contribution to the state by introducing both online and retail sports betting.
“The CLC has already contributed nearly $300m to the General Fund through the end of last week, and we are poised to continue delivering responsibly for the state through these additional revenue streams.”
The agreement, in part, gives the CT Lottery the right to:
- Operate statewide online sports betting skin with partners and vendors to be determined
- Operate 15 retail sports betting locations (including new venues in Hartford and Bridgeport)
- Sublicense some of those retail locations to the state-licensed parimutuel operator.
- Sell draw games and Keno products online statewide (ilottery).
The deal also includes:
- An 18% tax rate for the first five years on new online commercial casino gaming revenue the tribes generate, followed by a 20% tax rate for at least the next five years
- A 13.75% tax rate on the tribes’ sports wagering revenue.
- License agreement to be for 10 years with a five-year extension option.
- Both tribes agree to halt the development of an East Windsor casino through the duration of this agreement.
Though an agreement is in place, the CT Lottery must await legislative authorisation to come from the Connecticut General Assembly, as well as regulatory authorisation from the Department of Consumer Protection, before sports betting and online lottery sales can commence.
Rodney Butler, the Mashantucket Chairman, believes that the process could be completed by August or September. According to Yahoo, he said: “I’m thinking months. We could be launching mid-, end of summer.”
Lamont added: “I think it’s going to do very well in the legislature. The legislature had some other bills on there that would not have advantaged the state of Connecticut nearly as much, and I think people are sort of happy with the way this has come out.
“I’m really happy that Rodney and James (Gessner Jr., the Mohegan chairman) are on board and together.”
Mohegan Chairman James Gessner Jr commented: “The Mohegan Tribe is very thankful to our partners in government, both the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the State of Connecticut, for reaching collective agreement on a path forward for modernizing our state’s gaming entertainment industry.
“This will allow Connecticut to generate tax revenues from sports and online gaming that are competitive with other states, to the benefit of both state and local municipal budgets, as well as our tribe’s members.”
