The Connecticut Lottery Corporation (CLC) has applauded Governor Ned Lamont and the Connecticut General Assembly on the state’s approval of sports wagering, online lottery, and online gaming.
The legislation is House Bill 6451, An Act Concerning the Authorization, Licensing and Regulation of Online Casino Gaming, Retail and Online Sports Wagering, Fantasy Contests, Keno and Online Sale of Lottery Tickets.
CLC Board Chairman Rob Simmelkjaer commented: “Today is a great day for the state of Connecticut. We are very pleased that the state legislature has approved this modernization of Connecticut’s gaming landscape.
“I congratulate and thank Governor Lamont and his team for their leadership and vision to reach this historic agreement and see it pass the Connecticut General Assembly. I also thank the leadership in both the Connecticut House and Senate for this milestone achievement.”
The agreement, in part, gives the lottery the right to operate statewide online sports betting skins with partners and vendors, operate 15 retail sports betting locations, sublicense some of those retail locations to the state-licensed parimutuel operator, and sell draw games and Keno products online statewide (ilottery).
The CLC is already in talks with prospective vendors and partners to help launch its sports betting platform as quickly as possible, to which formal responses to its sports betting RFP will be due in the next two weeks. An RFP for an ilottery vendor will also be issued in the coming days.
Approved this week by the House of Representatives, the legislation will next be transmitted to the governor for his signature and comes as a result of an agreement the Lamont administration reached earlier this year with the Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribe.
Lamont has said he plans to sign the bill in the coming days. Following that, his administration and the tribes will seek approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the US Department of Interior to amend the state’s compact with the tribes.
The federal agency needs to approve the changes to the compact before online gaming and sports wagering can begin in the state.
