New Connecticut Bill Favors Sports Leagues

Lawmakers from the US state of Connecticut have introduced a new sports betting bill where an integrity fee dedicated to national sports leagues is mentioned as a top priority.

It is interesting that Connecticut is one of the rare US states that doesn’t have a professional sports team…

…no NBA team, nothing in the NFL and no ice hockey even though the state is known for its cold weather.

New Gambling Bill

In the past few weeks, Connecticut lawmakers have been discussing four different gambling bills, and after a committee meeting that lasted 11-hours, a new sports betting bill was chosen.

In the bill, it is mentioned that a handle of 0.25% should be paid to the national leagues…

…but the sports groups would not keep all the money to themselves.

The lawmaker that created this bill was Representative, Joe Verrengia, and it was mentioned in the bill that part of the money should go to a new partnership between the leagues and the Connecticut Department of Economic Development.

“I think there’s a distinct difference here in looking to partner with professional sports teams, and in return, they would get up to a certain amount of revenue with the understanding that they would create more of a presence here in the state. I believe we would be one of the first states to engage in a partnership of this kind and magnitude,” Verrengia explained.

The Partnership

It has not been discussed in detail in the bill how much money the leagues would keep from that 0.25%…

…or, for that matter, how much would go to the partnership.

But, it was said that through that partnership pro exhibition games of the major sports leagues would be introduced to the state. Also, that partnership would pave the way for the development of sports activities for the young in Connecticut.

Verrengia says that the idea of this bill has been very well received already and at least one major sports league is up for it. The state representative discussed this matter with senior VP of NBA, Dan Spillane…

…and he said that the idea sounds interesting to him.

The plan is to put the bill in front of the House Public Safety and Security, and it seems like it will most likely without any doubt since Representative, Verrengia, is the chairman of the committee.

Sports Betting in Connecticut

Back in January, eight state senators introduced a sports betting bill named SB 665 in a t effort.

The primary aim of the bill was to “establish competitive wagering on the results of certain sports events,” but the real duty now belongs to the state legislature, which needs to come up with a complete regulatory scheme for sports the betting vertical.

At the moment, only two Native American tribes, Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan – are the only entities allowed to operate gambling in Connecticut.

Source:

“New Connecticut sports gambling bill favors sports leagues”, Erik Gibbs, calvinayre.com, March 7, 2019.