CT sports betting could start in time for NFL
Long-suffering New York Giants and Jets fans may be able to bet against their inept teams — and cash-in or lose — through legal Connecticut sports wagering by the start of the 2021 National Football League season.
Less than a week after sealing a sports betting and online gambling deal with the two tribes that own casinos, Gov. Ned Lamont and his advisers on Monday said they hope to be able to speed up the projected year-long process of launching regulations. But a lot has to happen before the virtual betting windows open.
First, an actual bill is needed with the details of last week’s agreement among the state, the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribal nations, and the quasi-public Connecticut Lottery Corp.
During a Monday news conference from the State Capitol, Lamont and Paul Mounds, his chief of staff, said they were optimistic that sports and online casino gambling will be in place in time for the NFL. That includes a review of the proposed changes to the state’s nearly 30-year-old tribal compact in the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), which could take two months.
“The wild card in the pack, of course, is how fast...the legislature gets their bill passed, but probably the one we have less control over is the Department of the Interior,” Lamont said. “I’d like to think we can expedite that.”
The idea, said Paul Mounds, Lamont’s chief of staff who was the point man in the negotiations, is to put as many details as possible into a bill in order to make the process of writing regulations work smoothly.
Traditionally, it takes a year or longer for new regulations to clear a review process, but Mounds said the General Assembly could speed that up. The amendments to the existing compacts with the tribes, dating to 1992 and 1996, would need to be reviewed by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs within the DOI.
“By the time of the start of football season in the
fall, we should be up and running here in Connecticut,” Mounds said, adding that there will be updates on possible revenue projections. Both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have laid the ground work for sports betting by signing contracts with sports-betting vendors.
Lamont estimated that the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, operated by the Mashantucket Pequots, will see an extra $100 million a year in revenue through online casino games alone.
Robert T. Simmelkjaer II, chairman of the board of the Connecticut Lottery Corp., who was Lamont’s guest during the 45-minute news conference, said that the lottery’s piece of the future of gambling, through new internet lottery games, would supplement the $1.7 billion given to the state over the last five years, including $304 million since last July 1.
“This agreement between the state and our tribal nations is really a once-ina-generation pact,” Simmelkjaer said. “It sets up our state to be regionally competitive in this fastgrowing marketplace of gaming and sports betting that was previously unregulated.”
Simmelkjaer said that under the deal, the lottery will be able to sell existing products online, including daily numbers and Powerball via mobile apps; have a sports-wagering platform similar to the two tribes; and the ability to launch up
to 15 retail sports-betting locations.
“We’re particularly excited about this retail opportunity, as we feel it has the potential to create great new entertainment zones and hubs as well as jobs, especially in Hartford and Bridgeport, where we plan to really focus on creating a significant presence,” Simmelkjaer said. “We’re hopeful that the legislature will move quickly on that, as time is of the essence here as we try to get to market with these products.”
The locations could be done through Sportech, operator of Connecticut’s mari-mutuel off-track betting sites, although Sportech has said it may object to the operation and is seeking an online role.
Simmelkjaer added that with the expansion of gambling, there will be additional resources to help people with addiction problems.
“I think the good news is that the online nature of a lot of these new gaming options actually make it easier to both identify and to help people who run into trouble,” Simmelkjaer said. “It’s much easier to do that in a digital landscape than it is in an all-cash business. We’ll know our customers better. We’ll have a better sense of who’s having trouble and the ability to help them deal with and get any resources they need to help with any problem gambling.”
State Sen. Cathy Osten,
D-Sprague, a proponent of expanded gambling and supporter of the two tribes, which are in her district, said Monday that the time table for enacting the new gambling era will really depend on the ruling of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. With a new secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, who has visited Connecticut, it should be easier to win the approval.
Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo and former U.S. Representative from New Mexico, is the first native American interior secretary.
Osten believes that online casino games could start as early as July 1, but the federal approval is needed to go ahead with sports wagering. “This BIA is more user-friendly relative to tribal nations,” Osten said Monday night. “Both them have relationships with the new secretary.”
Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, said Monday night that a lot depends on the time schedule of the General Assembly.
“The agreement needs to be passed by the legislature, the compact needs federal approval and the state needs to approve regulations, so we can’t know the timing for certain,” Butler said. “But we are ready to be up and running quickly, by the beginning of the NFL season if everything goes smoothly.”