Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has welcomed this week’s bipartisan vote in the State Senate giving final legislative approval to a bill that will legalise online gaming and sports wagering in the state. Policymakers anticipate a start date of September 9, in time for the first day of the NFL season.
The legislation is House Bill 6451, An Act Concerning the Authorization, Licensing and Regulation of Online Casino Gaming, Retail and Online Sports Wagering, Fantasy Contests, Keno and Online Sale of Lottery Tickets.
Approved last week by the House of Representatives, the legislation will next be transmitted to the governor for his signature and comes as a result of an agreement the Lamont administration reached earlier this year with the Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribe.
Lamont commented that he plans to sign the bill in the coming days. Following that, his administration and the tribes will seek approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the US Department of Interior to amend the state’s compact with the tribes.
The federal agency needs to approve the changes to the compact before online gaming and sports wagering can begin in the state.
Said the Governor: “I want to congratulate and thank the Connecticut General Assembly for approving historic legislation, negotiated by my office, which modernizes Connecticut’s gaming landscape.
“I also want to thank our tribal partners, the Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, for their constructive and collaborative efforts, both in negotiating the agreement and working through the details of this legislation.
“This is a significant moment for our state as, for the first time, we will allow sports wagering, online casino gaming, and entry of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation into this space. I look forward to signing this legislation into law, which is in the best interests of the State of Connecticut and its citizens.”
The agreement, in part, gives the Connecticut Lottery the right to operate statewide online sports betting skin with partners and vendors, operate 15 retail sports betting locations, sublicense some of those retail locations to the state-licensed parimutuel operator, and sell draw games and Keno products online statewide (ilottery).
