Connecticut Online Sports Betting & Casino Open for Business
@loumonaco
Rise and bet online, Connecticut.
Bettors in Connecticut began placing mobile sports bets and playing online casino games at 6 a.m Tuesday after a seven-day soft launch was successfully completed Monday.
The Connecticut Lottery Corp. with PlaySugarHouse.com, the Mohegan Tribe with DraftKings and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe with FanDuel began offering online wagering to all adults 21 and older Tuesday morning.
In addition, more than 130 online casino games have been approved by the state’s Department of Consumer Protection and were available on DraftKings Casino and FanDuel Casino to Connecticut online casino players.
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“Thank you to everyone who participated in this process to ensure an effective soft launch for online gaming platforms,” Michelle H. Seagull, Consumer Protection commissioner, said in a news release. “This is an exciting time in our state, and we are proud of the work we have done to ensure a safe and successful gaming landscape in Connecticut. We encourage everyone to enjoy these new forms of entertainment responsibly.”
Governor Bets
Gov. Ned Lamont, who placed the first bet when retail sports betting in Connecticut went live two weeks ago, thanked the Department of Consumer Protection for the quick start after he signed sports betting into law on May 27. That allowed the Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, along with the Connecticut Lottery, to offer online gaming and sports wagering.
”I extend my gratitude to the staff at the Department of Consumer Protection for their efforts over the last several months to make this possible, particularly since this is one of the fastest state implementations of online gaming and sports wagering of any state in the nation,” Lamont said in a news release.
During the soft launch period, each of the three sportsbooks could create or register 750 bettors to place wagers throughout the week during specific hours.
Retail Already Live
Retail sports betting in Connecticut went live on Sept. 30 at temporary sportsbook in the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation’s Foxwoods Resort Casino (FanDuel) and at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville (DraftKings). Both operators hope to soon open permanent sportsbooks at their casinos.
PlaySugarHouse is the Connecticut Lottery Corp.’s official sportsbook partner. In addition to mobile sports betting through an app, those in Connecticut will soon be able to bet at 15 PlaySugarHouse retail sportsbooks across the state, including at Bobby V’s locations in Stamford and Windsor Locks; Sports Haven in New Haven; and the Winners locations in Hartford, Manchester, Waterbury, Torrington, New Britain, Milford, and Norwalk.
The state’s Department of Consumer Protection on Oct. 8 notified the sportsbook operators that they could begin the week-long soft launch on Oct. 12. The state’s initial planned soft launch last week was delayed.
But in the end, Connecticut has online and retail sportsbooks taking wagers during the NFL season, and online casinos up and running.
“This is an exciting moment for our state and our tribal partners,” Lamont said in the release. “Connecticut has proven to be a leader when it comes to the gaming economy going back decades, and that legacy will continue with the launch of these new online options for all eligible residents.”
Contributors
Lou Monaco had been East Coast Scene columnist for Gaming Today in Las Vegas since June 2019, covering the East Coast sportsbook scene with emphasis on NJ and PA. He also currently is a part-time writer for the high school sports department for NJ Advanced Media (NJ.com) in Iselin, NJ. Lou has over 30 years sports experience with previous stints at ESPN SportsTicker, Daily Racing Form and Oddschecker.
