Connecticut legalises online gambling

Connecticut is a whisker away from being the latest US state to offer locally licensed and regulated online gambling to its residents.

All state-based hurdles have been cleared. House Bill 6451 passing emphatically in the state’s upper (28-6) and lower (122-21) houses  of Parliament. Governor Ned Lamont then wasted no time in signing the bill into law on Thursday (27 May).

Federal approval is the last hurdle; required in this case because the games will be served by the  Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes. The tribes currently operate land base casinos in accordance with a compact with the state. The new law requires an update to that compact, which in turn requires approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the US Department of Interior.

Barring a stumble at the last hurdle online services are expected to launch by September this year. After which, adults resident in Connecticut will be able to place sports bets or play casino/poker games at the tribes’ respective websites.

Live dealers may not be offered at go-live, but they certainly can be. HB 6451 specifically includes live dealers in the definition of online casino gaming.

“Online casino gaming” means (A) slots, blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, poker and video poker, bingo, live dealer and other peer-to-peer games and any variations of such games, and (B) any games authorized by the department…

Not altogether surprising given Mashantucket Pequot’s Foxwoods Casino has been serving live dealers (to players outside the US) for almost 3 years now. Foxwoods partnered with Authentic Gaming on live roulette back in 2018.

The games are all ready to go…just waiting for Foxwoods to open the door to Nutmeggers.

The state of player for US online casino gambling continues to change.

The North East of the country is where we’ve seen most of the action to date. Connecticut fills another small tile there.

With a population of only 3.5 million, this will not be a market that has operators and providers scrambling to get involved. Not to the extent that New Jersey (8.8 million), Pennsylvania (12.8 million) and Michigan (10 million) did anyway.

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