Connecticut Develops Tribal Casino and Authorizes Sports Betting as Montana Looks For 2020 Mobile and Retail Launch

The finalization of the year’s first quarter means that regulators across all US jurisdictions are hard at work summing up their balance books and figuring out figures. With some states, such as New Jersey and Nevada, traditionally having very little to fear in of income…

…some others that are only in the infancy stage of gambling regulation are putting their experiences to use and are only beginning to ride the wave of sports betting and online gaming legalization that has swept across the nation.

Connecticut Just About to the League

In Connecticut, where Division of Special Revenue is in charge of all things gambling and gaming related, the state allows interactive advanced deposit wagering on horse racing events…

…and The State Lottery does not offer interactive/online gambling, although some offshore operators still accept players from CT.

This state takes pride in one very cool fact, which is that its Foxwoods casino is the world’s largest resort casino (in floor space and slot amount category) and is the largest poker room not located in California!

Mohegan Sun is another influential casino property, operated by Indian tribes, and it is expected that it would play a pivotal role in online gambling adoption in CT’s market.

Connecticut has still not ed any state legislation to legalize online gambling, although it is getting close. Advanced deposit wagering has been legal since 2002, and the legal gambling age ranges from 18 for lottery and charity bingo to 21 for casinos and slots.

A Storm Before the Calm

January and march were particularly hectic for Connecticut…

…as several bills and strategies were introduced that could even out the opposing views on regulation matters.

A legislation for authorization of land-based and online sports betting was introduced by State Senator, Osten. It also suggests legal online gaming in general, as well as keno. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun would be the sole providers of these services for the entire state.

Also, a group of senators introduced Senate Bill 665 to authorize sports betting which would require a commercial framework to be developed by the state legislature.

In March, House Rep, Joe Verrengia, proposed a bill that would legalize land-based and online sports betting in a piece of legislation HB7331…

…allowing casinos, state lottery and off-track kiosks to operate betting on professional and collegiate sports. Simultaneously, Masantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes received approval for construction of Tribal Winds Casino in East Windsor.

Connecticut’s total gross gambling revenue in 2018 was $14.7 million (still an estimate, official number hasn’t been revealed yet).

Sleepy Montana

Things are still of slower pace over at Montana, which is, as of late March, still one of four US states that can qualify for exemption from federal prohibition on sports betting under PASPA.

Their regulatory body is Department of Justice’s Gambling Control Division and the key legislation is Montana Code, title 23 chapter 5, under which…

…Montana State Lottery still holds a monopoly on lottery products and there are no state regulated onshore operations, although Montana residents are accepted by some offshore operators.

There are no commercial land-based casinos, except for several tribal-operated ones. There is a limit on payout on gambling machines which stands at $800. At licensed facilities, punters can place wagers on on-track horse and dog races.

Signs of Life

In January, the Montana Senate unanimously ed the fantasy sports bill, SB25…

…whereas a sports betting bill in three iterations was announced by state legislators in February. A hearing into legislation to expand sports betting was held by Business, Labour and Economic Affairs Committee.

The proposed Montana Sports Betting Act SB330 looks to legalize licensed gambling facilities to operate retail and mobile sports betting and would come with the GGR tax of 8.5%. It could go in effect in June 2020 if ed.

The state’s total gross gambling turnover for 2018 is estimated at $1.8 million.

Source:

“H2 Gambling Capital”, h2gc.com, March 21, 2019.