The state of Connecticut will officially launch sports betting on October 19, a date that is close to two
weeks after officials were hoping to launch. There was initial hope that sports betting would launch near the start of October to allow the state to take advantage of as much NFL betting as possible.
Sports betting in Connecticut can be offered by just three groups, but it should still be a competitive market. The Connecticut Lottery will offer online betting through a partnership with SugarHouse Sportsbook.
The Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe will be able to offer retail betting at their
casinos, and they can also offer online sports betting. The Mohegan Tribe has partnered with FanDuel Sportsbook, and DraftKings was chosen to operate for the Mashantucket Pequot.
Governor Ned Lamont was able to sign a new gaming compact with the two Native American tribes to include sports betting. This new compact had to get approved by the United States government, and that is where the delay occurred.
Even though there are no major professional sports teams in Connecticut, it is expected to become a sports betting leader in the Northeast portion of the United States.
Soft Launch Available For Some Bettors
The state of Connecticut will allow its three online sports betting operators to offer a soft launch beginning on October 12. The sportsbooks can go live at 3:00 pm that day, and this will give sportsbooks a chance to iron out the kinks before the industry fully launches.
The soft launch will be limited to just 750 customers on each site, and there is expected to be a rush to be one of the first bettors in that group. There will be a limited amount of betting opportunities in the first week before a full slate of markets are available just one week later.
Additional Details of Sports Betting
The tribal casinos won’t be the only retail sports betting options in the state as the Connecticut Lottery can also establish 15 retail locations. These will be spread out throughout the state, but there won’t be a massive sportsbook on site.
Sports betting revenue will be taxed at a rate of 13.75%, which is high compared to other states throughout the US. The sports betting licenses are good for ten years, which means that the state won’t be seeing any new operators in the state for the next decade.
Original Launch Was Delayed
The original launch was delayed after the federal register did not publish the Memorandums of Understandings. Since a new gaming compact was needed in order to offer sports betting, there were multiple levels of approval that were needed.
The US Department of Interior has been dealing with a number of states taking the same path to sports betting, and that caused this process to take longer than expected. Connecticut state officials confirmed that everything is now in place and there would be no further delays in the process.
