T
he state of Connecticut has taken a major step on Tuesday towards legalized sports and online gambling: a legislative committee has approved “emergency” regulations for the new gambling market.
The 82 pages of regulations were approved in time for the new NFL season, starting in nine days, marking the largest expansion of gambling in the state’s history, thus bringing years of negotiations and debates to a proximate closure, reports Hartford Courant.
The committee voting ended 9 to 4, with questions raised by four Republicans about the need for emergency regulations so that sports betting could begin by Sept. 9. However, the measure passed on a bipartisan basis as Republicans co-chairwoman Nicole Klarides-Ditria of Seymour and Rep. Christie Carpino of Cromwell vote in favor.
The state now awaits the U.S. Department of the Interior’s approval of changes to agreements between Connecticut and the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans tribes, which operate the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino. Moreover, the Department of Interior’s decision will have to be codified within the Federal Register, and licenses approved for operators, before wagering can launch.
In a statement, Rodney Butler, the Mashantucket Pequot’s tribal chairman, said: “We expect action from the federal Department of Interior within the new two weeks on the compact amendments submitted in late July, and it is our understanding that once that approval comes, the state Department of Consumer Protection will issue master wagering licenses.” The tribe is working to launch online gaming and sports betting “as soon as legally allowed to do so.”
The emergency regulations passed on Tuesday will be valid for 180 days and are set to be studied further and subject to a vote on final regulations early next year, after legislative session starts in February.
On the newly passed emergency regulations, Gov. Ned Lamont said the state “has crafted nation-leading legislation” which will position Connecticut as a leader in the expanded gambling landscape. Both Lamont and the tribes have long been expressing a desire to have legalized sports wagering. “The passage of the regulations for sports wagering and online gaming is a significant step forward for Connecticut and our partners in this new marketplace,” he added.
Here’s my statement on the approval today by the Connecticut General Assembly’s Regulation Review Committee of the regulations for sports wagering and online gaming. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/NnNXwRrmi3
— Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont) August 31, 2021
The tribes and the state-owned Connecticut Lottery Corporation are the only entities eligible for the master licenses for sports wagering. They all have already selected vendors to run their sportsbooks, but were waiting for the regulatory structure to enable it. The Lottery has selected Rush Street Interactive as its partner, and New Haven-based Sportech will offer retail sports betting at 10 locations in conjunction with RSI. FanDuel is set to launch retail and online sports betting with Mohegan; and DraftKings teamed up with Foxwoods.
One issue tackled on Tuesday was payment of gambling debts, with legislators concerned problem gamblers could end up spending too much money. In response, the emergency package contemplates only the use of one credit card at a time. Other state lawmakers expressed questions about whether gamblers will eventually be allowed to use alternative forms of payment, such as PayPal.
State consumer protection commissioner Michelle Seagull said the department will continue studying the issue, which is subject to further review by the legislature over the next six months before final regulations are approved.
“Today is the culmination of years of hard work to bring Connecticut up to speed with modern betting practices and to give our tribal partners, who are some of the largest employers in the state and who have contributed billions of dollars to our economy, a more modern and expanded approach to the gaming portion of their entertainment, retail and restaurant business here in Connecticut,” said State Sen. Cathy Osten, a Sprague Democrat who supports the tribes which run two casinos in her district.
