The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Tribes say no slots revenue if sports betting is legalized
HARTFORD — Connecticut’s two recognized Indian tribes are threatening to cut off slot machine revenue from their casino resorts if sports betting is authorized statewide.
In a letter to House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, and other legislative leaders, the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes said a bill before the General Assembly to legalize sports betting would violate the compact between the tribes and the state.
That means the state’s 25 percent take from slot revenue at the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos — some $250 million a year — could be cut off unless a deal is struck with the tribes over sports betting, both tribal nations warned.
“If the state authorizes video facsimile gaming, the exclusivity provisions of (the compacts) would be violated and our obligations to make the slot contributions cease,” said Mohegan Attorney General Helga Woods.
Aresimowicz said he views the letters as the beginning of negotiations with the tribes, and said both would be involved in sports betting if it is authorized by the state.
“The tribes have been great partners and I’m sure we will have conversations,” Aresimowicz said, adding state Attorney George Jepsen does not agree that the tribes could halt payments.
But Aresimowicz said if the tribes cut off the slot revenue the state could revoke authorization for slot machines on their reservations.
“No one wants to do that,” Aresimowicz said. “The tribes would be part of anything we do, we know that.”
Open to a deal
The possibility of legal sports betting is on the table because of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that many expect will open up sports betting nationwide. The bill before the Legislature would pave the way for wagering if the court rules as expected.
Woods noted the tribes are open to a deal with the state similar to the arrangement struck over Keno. The tribal compacts were modified so Keno could be offered statewide and at the two tribal casinos. The tribes are receiving 12.5 percent of the Keno gross operating revenue.
“The 2015 Keno legislation can be a good model for resolving exclusivity issues to permit sports betting and Internet gaming as part of our casino offerings,” Woods said.
Lori Potter, a spokeswoman for the Pequots, also offered the chance for a deal.
“We are confident that gaming opportunities such as sports betting can be achieved within the framework of our existing agreements without jeopardizing the continuance of our payments,” Potter said.
Dueling opinions
Whether sports betting would violate the compacts between the state and the tribes is an open question. Those compacts give the tribes the exclusive right to offer certain forms of gambling on their federally recognized Indian reservations.
Jepsen, in April, said the compact would not be violated by sports betting because that type of gambling is not specifically listed among the types allowed under the compacts with the tribes.
But Jepsen said whether sports betting is a “‘commercial casino game’ is an open question. That term is not defined in the compacts. How a court might resolve that question is uncertain.”
The term “commercial casino game” refers to how sports betting would be conducted. Most believe a video machine, similar to a poker game, would be used to place bets. Video facsimile games are covered by the compacts.
“If the state passed a law permitting sports wagering and a court concluded that it does constitute a commercial casino game, the tribes could cease making payments to the state.” Jepsen said.
Woods said the tribes “most certainly would argue that sports wagering would violate the exclusivity provisions of our (compact). While Attorney General Jepsen calls it an ‘open question,’ we believe that sports betting is a ‘commercial casino game’ as that term is used in the (compact’s) exclusivity provisions.”