Late Tuesday night, the Senate passed a bill that allowed the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes to offer both online gambling, including poker, and sports betting, as well as allowing the Connecticut lottery to offer sports betting.
The act passed through the upper house of parliament with an overwhelming 28-6 votes after a brief debate on the bill. Comes less than a week after the House passed the same law on 122-21.
The bill is now going to the desk of Governor Ned Lamont, who said he would sign the bill. It was Lamont who brought the two tribes that own two Las Vegas-style casinos in the state to the negotiating table earlier this year and agreed to an online gambling deal in March.
The legislation updates the existing game arrangement between the state and the tribes. The tribes will be able to offer online gambling in the state while adding both online and retail bookmakers to their offerings.
In return for expanding the business of online casinos, lottery games will also have the right to offer both online and retail sports betting.
Because the legislation applies to an existing gaming agreement between a tribal entity and the state government, it is subject to approval by the Department of the Interior. Once approved, Connecticut will become the seventh state to legalize online poker. It joins Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
It becomes the third New England state to legalize sports betting by joining Rhode Island and New Hampshire. However, bets on collegiate state athletics competitions will not be allowed.
However, the bill includes a 10-year break in the development of a proposed East Windsor casino that would be owned by both tribes to compete with MGM Springfield. Despite the regulations, both tribes had previously agreed to halt the project.
Online gambling revenues will be taxed at 18% for the first five years and 20% for subsequent years. Sports betting will have a 13. 75% income tax. Early estimates by the Fiscal Analysis Authority indicate that these regulations collectively generate $ 27.9 million in new tax revenue.
The schedule for launching the new market has not yet been defined.