Connecticut Sports Betting Aiming For NFL Season

A lot is going on in the New England area, as Connecticut could be one of the next states to legalize online sports betting. Gov. Ned Lamont has been backing sports betting within the state but there has been some closing between the tribal nations within the state. Recent updates have been that Connecticut and the Tribes remain intact towards getting sports betting going. As states and tribes need more revenue, we have seen other states begin to move towards legalized sports betting.

Connecticut Sets Timeline

The start of the NFL season is always a deadline that operators and lawmakers aim for. NFL brings in the most revenue and getting everyone registered and ready to go beforehand can make end-of-the-year revenue skyrocket. Now there is still a lot to go through for Connecticut to legalize, but four months is enough to get things taken care of. With New York set to legalize mobile betting this year, New Jersey already doing so, and New Hampshire already in business. Connecticut needs to get moving. Both them and Massachusetts have been slower than expected when it comes to legalization.

What We Know So Far

There continues to be a push for more retail casinos in Connecticut as Bridgeport and Hartford will land two new locations. This is going to be a lottery model, where there will be operators trying to land the remaining license. Overall the state lottery will claim 15 locations. The Mohegan Tribe is going to partner with Kambi and Mashantucket Pequot Tribe will partner with DraftKings. There will also be off-track betting facilities.

What Needs To Happen

There are already bids in place for the lottery system in Connecticut and now the state needs to figure out which one they will go with. They were going to take in pricing, customer retention, retail experience, responsible practices, and the overall product into consideration. There still needs to be regulations put in place but they seem to be getting closer. Once an operator gets chosen, things will progress more quickly. Over the course of summer, they should see someone get approved and then operators will get moving to be ready for the start of the NFL season.

While it seems like a tall task to get this all done in a few months, there is growing optimism that lawmakers and the lottery system are moving as quickly as possible.