Connecticut tribes in line for sports betting exclusivity

A gambling bill that would allow Connecticut’s two tribal casinos to operate sports betting has been submitted to the state Senate.

Author of the bipartisan bill, senator Cathy Osten commented the state is already playing catch up with surrounding markets after failing to pass a similar bill in the last legislative session.
“Connecticut needs to play catch-up with surrounding states if we’re serious about modernizing our existing gaming industry. Fortunately, we can do that with a relatively simple regulatory fix,” she said.
“We have the infrastructure with the tribal casinos, we can use the new revenue, and we’ve got bipartisan support. This should be an early session success story.”
Previous opposition to similar measures revolved around offering two tribes operational exclusivity. In the interim however both the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot warned that if sports betting were not to be classified as a casino game – and therefore their exclusive remit to offer – they may well pull their revenue sharing payments and this seems to have swayed the politicians that matter.