Connecticut Sports Betting Update: What Will The Lottery Do?
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Connecticut Update
Connecticut sports betting is still well on its way to becoming a reality, but significant momentum picked up this week. On Tuesday, July 27, the Department of the Interior told the Action Network that it had received the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot Tribes compacts. In Connecticut, the Mohegan Tribe will partner with FanDuel, and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe will partner with DraftKings for retail and online sports betting.
However, the DOI now has 45 days to review the compacts, so their decision may not come until September 10, which is one day after the NFL‘s first game. Of course, the start of the NFL season is such a significant date due to the massive amounts of potential tax revenue Connecticut can capitalize on associated with NFL gambling. Following the DOI’s approval, there will still be a period of waiting for the compact to be officially recognized. At the same time, it is printed in the Federal Registrar – this could take several more days.
The state of Connecticut is still in the process of finalizing its own sports betting rules. The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection is drafting a new set of rules at the moment. Once the DCP finalizes its rules, the General Assembly’s Legislative Regulation Review Committee will need to approve those rules. The next committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for August 24, by which point the DCP should have finalized its rules, and the committee could vote to approve the DCP’s work.
Connecticut Lottery
The Connecticut Lottery is still in the process of figuring out who its betting partner will be, and it is set to make this major announcement in the coming weeks. The partner of the Connecticut Lottery is not subject to federal approval, so it could launch ahead of DraftKings and FanDuel depending on state legislative work.
The Connecticut Lottery has a board meeting scheduled for August 15 at which their sports betting partner could be finalized. Connecticut has stated that the Lottery can’t partner with a sportsbook that shares a name with a casino so that rules out sportsbooks like BetMGM and Caesars. The Lottery’s partner can, however, offer DFS as soon as it launches.
Rob Simmelkjaer, the Chair of the Connecticut Lottery Board, is the founder and CEO of Persona Media and was previously a sports media executive with NBC Sports and ESPN. He stated that the Connecticut Lottery is “hopeful to get something done in the next couple of weeks and have an announcement”. At least four vendors are reportedly finalists for the lottery’s primary partner.
Simmelkjaer gave some hints as to who the sports betting partner for the Connecticut Lottery is, including the following: “They are a very well established company that has been very successful in a number of states around the country when it comes to both sports betting” as well as “other sorts of gaming”. The most likely candidates in my estimation are PointsBet and FoxBet.
Connecticut Market
Sports betting is expected to raise $19.3 million in state revenue and almost $25 million per year by June 30, 2026. The race to win a sports betting license in the state has come down to one spot left with the Connecticut Lottery, and once that partner is announced, Connecticut will be one step closer to a hopeful sports betting launch later in 2021.
