The state of Connecticut has been working on sports betting legislation since the beginning of 2021, and there is now a target launch date that has been set. After the US Department of Interior officially approved the new sports betting rules and regulations, Connecticut is hoping to launch sports betting at some point this October.
Governor Ned Lamont signed a new gaming compact with the Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe back in May, and that compact included legal sports betting. This is a similar path that other states and tribal nations have taken throughout the US in an effort to join the growing industry.
The US Department of Interior had to re-review the gaming compact and the rules after there were some adjustments made by lawmakers. Now that this has occurred, the final steps will be taken throughout the month of September to have things in place for an October launch.
An official launch date should be announced at a later date, but the state doesn’t want to set a date that will ultimately be unreachable.
Long and Winding Process
The negotiation of the new gaming compact was a pretty easy process for Lamont and the tribes, but the rest of this process has been challenging. Lawmakers in Connecticut have been supportive of legal sports betting, but it has taken them some time to approve the rules and regulations to guide the industry.
Connecticut sports betting is going to be offered on a smaller scale compared to other states, and the Native American tribes are going to have plenty of control. Those tribes have not wasted any time in getting sports betting operations ready, but they have been forced to wait for these new rules to be approved.
Three Companies Approved
The Connecticut Lottery Corporation has partnered with Rush Street Interactive to power their sports betting when the industry is finally launched. Rush Street is a popular name in the US sports betting industry, and it owns and operates sportsbooks such as BetRivers and SugarHouse Sportsbook.
The other two operators in Connecticut are the two biggest in the US, and both DraftKings and FanDuel have formed partnerships with the Native American tribes included in the gaming compact.
Other States Get the Jump
There was some initial hope that Connecticut would be on track to launch sports betting before the start
of the 2021 NFL season, but there just wasn’t enough time to get things in place. Launching in October will still allow the state to get in on the NFL action, but there will be some money that is lost.
Three other states in the US were able to get legal sports betting up and running before the start of this season, and that should allow each state to get off to a big start. Arizona, South Dakota, and Washington all launched prior to September 9, which was the date of the first NFL game.
There are now more than half of the state in the US that offer legal sports betting.
