Here’s what you need to know about online sports betting in CT
Online casino gaming and sports betting has been live in Connecticut since Oct. 19 and the state reported that its tax coffers gained a total of $1.7 million in about a half-month of betting under the new system, on a total of $366 million in wagers. Online casino games online were a lot bigger than sports betting: Mohegan Digital took in $123 million in wagers and paid out $119 million, while the Mashantucket Pequot tribe that operates Foxwoods attracted a larger $189.5 million, earned $4.8 million and paid out $1.2 million in promotions, for a profit of $3.6 million.
Launched on Oct. 19, online casino gaming and sports betting had a soft launch of the new gaming system on Sept. 30. In that soft launch, the Connecticut Lottery Corp., and Mohegan Sun both reported the first-ever bets on their online platforms to be $10 on a Major League Baseball playoff game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves. Foxwoods' first online sports bet was on an NCAA football matchup between the Appalachian State Mountaineers and the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns.
With online gaming and sports betting taking off in Connecticut, here’s what to know about the latest addition to gaming in the state.
What you can bet on
Nutmeggers ages 21 and older can place wagers on online casino games, as well as fantasy sports, professional sports and Olympic and international sports. E-sports and college sports do allow for wagers, but not if one of the participants is a Connecticut team playing in non-tournament event, according to the state’s gaming website.
Where you can bet
As of Oct. 19, online wagering is offered through the Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe’s online gaming partners, according to the state, which include: Rush Street Interactive FanDuel DraftKings Additionally, the Department of Consumer Protection has approved more than 130 games for the FanDuel and DraftKing apps. Both tribes can also offer iCasino, or online casino games. The Connecticut Lottery also offers PlaySugarHouse for sports wagering.
Wagering may also take place in-person at either Mohegan Sun casino or Foxwoods Resort and Casino.
It was illegal federally at one time
In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which kept states from allowing sports betting on NFL, MLB, NBA and college-level sports games, according to U.S. News and World Report. Before the act was overturned, U.S. News reports that several states fought to overturn the act, starting with New Jersey.
In Connecticut, launching sports betting and online gaming has hinged on the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes’ involvement. The two tribes have separate compacts, or agreements, with the state that date back to the 1990s spelling out the percentage of revenue the tribes would contribute to the state in exchange for the rights to gaming exclusivity in Connecticut.
For online gaming and sports betting to materialize in Connecticut, the state had to amend and establish new compacts with the tribes. With the new deal, Connecticut aims to generate tens of millions of dollars in new revenues from this emerging industry, while keeping the state competitive with gaming being offered or considered in neighboring states. Among its key provisions are an 18 percent tax rate for the first five years on new online commercial casino gaming, followed by a 20 percent rate for at least the next five years. There would be a 13.75 percent tax rate on sports wagering.
Sports betting, online gambling and taxes
People wagering on the Connecticut sites must be physically located in Connecticut; GPS fencing keeps those from other states from placing bets in the state while they are in a location outside of Connecticut. Winnings earned as a result of gambling must be reported for tax reasons.
As for the state as a whole, it expects to draw in $30 million in the first year, eventually ramping up to an estimated $100 million a year, by taxing online sports betting at 13.75 percent, and online casino games at 18 percent, rising to 20 percent after five years.