Gov. Ned Lamont recently announced that his administration has reached an agreement with Connecticut’s two federally recognized Native American tribes on a plan to expand gambling that could result in sports wagering and online gambling.
According to the Democratic governor and leaders of the Mohegan and Mashantucker Pequot tribes, the deal will modernize gambling in Connecticut, generate tens of millions of dollars in new revenue for the state and improve financial conditions for the tribes’ Eastern Connecticut casinos, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods.
Lamont announced that Connecticut is on cusp of providing a modern, technologically advanced gaming experience for their residents, which will be competitive with their neighboring states.
The agreement will be subject to approval from the state General Assembly and the U.S. interior Department and comes approximately 2 weeks after Lamont’s Chief of Staff announced that the administration had reached an agreement with the Mohegan tribe only.
In terms of the arrangement, the state will set an 18% tax rate for the first five years on new online gambling followed by a 20% rate the following five years. The state tax on sports wagering will be 13.75%.
The Connecticut Lottery will be permitted to offer sports wagering along with the tribes while the three entities – the lottery, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun will each offer their own version of sports betting.
The lottery will be allowed to operate 15 retail sports betting locations, run new retail sports betting venues in Bridgeport and Hartford and expand online lottery offerings. The lottery can also sublicense locations to the state-licensed pari-mutuel operator, Sportech, which owns and operates 14 off-track betting locations and two Bobby V’s Restaurant & Sports Bar locations in Connecticut.
