Feds Approve Sports Betting and Online Gaming in Connecticut
The Federal Government has signed off on the plans for the legalization of sports betting and online gaming in the state of Connecticut.
According to Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of Interior informed him that the gaming compacts between the state and the Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Peqout Tribe have been approved.
Said Lamont via Twitter:
“I just received a call from @USIndianAffairs informing me that they have given final approval to the revised gaming compacts between the State of Connecticut and the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot Tribes, allowing for sports wagering and online gaming. This critical step in the process of modernizing our gaming landscape here in Connecticut ensures that our state will have a competitive, nation-leading marketplace for wagering both in-person and online.”
“I thank @USIndianAffairs for approving these revisions, as well as the efforts of the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot Tribes. Today’s announcement puts CT on the cusp of providing a modern, technologically advanced gaming experience competitive with our neighboring states.”
Waiting to Be Published in the Federal Register
Earlier this year, the Connecticut General Assembly passed the legislation to legalize sports betting and online gambling in the state, which Lamont signed into a law. The law allows only the Connecticut Lottery Corporation and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes to conduct online and in-person sports wagering.
Thursday was the deadline for the Department of Interior to approve the compacts. While they are approved, they were not yet published in the Federal Register on Thursday and will only take effect once they are. Aside from that, the state’s Department of Consumer Protection still has to approve the vendors and suppliers that will be used by the operators.
Targeting October Launch
Once approval is secured, the operators will give the Department of Consumer Protection a 10-day notice of when they intend to go live. After that, there will be a seven-day soft launch where operations are monitored to iron out possible kinks. Once those tasks are complete, BetRivers ( Connecticut Lottery ), DraftKings( Mohegan Sun ), and FanDuel
( Foxwoods ) will be ready to launch, and according to sources, they will go live at the same time.
Back when the law was passed, supporters were hoping to launch on September 9th when the NFL’ opened its 2021 season. But since that has already passed and given the activities that still need to happen, the operators are looking to go live next month. The retail DraftKings sportsbooks at Foxwoods is also expected to open simultaneously with the launch of online sports betting while the Mohegan FanDuel brick and mortar sportsbook won’t be ready until winter.
Online Sports Betting in Michigan Likely Delayed Until 2021
Michigan regulators, who are familiar with the previous implementation of new gambling regulations in Michigan, expect it to take approximately one year to solidify the rules for the industry – online poker, online casino games, sports betting, and fantasy sports.
The targeted 2021 completion of the online rules are based on the time it took to develop other rule sets in the past, said Mary Kay Bean, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
While Detroit’s three commercial casinos, as well as the state’s 24 tribal casinos, will all need to obtain the proper mobile sports bettor operating licenses for online gambling, it’s the agency’s goal to launch on-site sports betting this spring.
“We are at a very early stage of this process,” Bean said, according to the Associated Press. “The agency must establish several sets of administrative rules, which pass through many levels of review. The timing of implementation depends not only on our agency but also on decisions other departments, agencies and the Legislature make along the way.”
The rules process could require public hearings, public comments, and regulatory impact statements. In addition, the rules must then lead to a licensing process, which will include vetting and ultimately issuing those licenses.
How Michigan Is Preparing for Legalized Sports Betting
MGM Grand Detroit has prepared for the update by opening their $6 million sports bar, Moneyline, last October. It will have betting windows and self-service kiosks once approved. But Detroit won’t be the only place it will be available.
“We view sports betting as another nice entity that will drive more people to our property,” Mike Bean, the CEO of Saginaw Chippewa Gaming Enterprises with locations in Mount Pleasant and Standish, said, according to the news wire. “Our biggest question right now is when is it all going to be ready?
Penn National Gaming Inc. is the new operator of the Greektown Casino. There have been decades-long agreements with four internet gaming operators because the organization aims to bring sports betting to its 41 locations in 19 states. Two of their locations could potentially operate in the state of Michigan.
“We’re envisioning what (sports betting) could look like if it were passed,” said Eric Schippers, Penn National senior vice president of public affairs. “Michigan is leaving a lot of money on the table it could be generating in tax revenue and benefits that could be funded from this. There’s natural pressure to strike while it’s hot. We’re hopeful Michigan won’t allow itself to get left behind.”
How Does Michigan’s Timeline Fare With Other States?
Pennsylvania, as a point of reference, took approximately two years before its first online poker site was able to launch, but that was on the long-tail of the required amount of time, almost excessively so. One year is more realistic, according to most industry analysts and experts.
The timeline largely is the standard in other states that have legalized online gaming and sports betting, said Rep. Brandt Iden, R-Oshtemo Township, who spearheaded the online gaming package. A similar package took six to eight months to implement in Indiana, he said.
“I’d like it to be a little bit quicker, but that’s probably the timeline,” Iden said.
The in-person sports betting timeline is a good step forward, he said, but it’s not likely the state will experience significant tax revenue until online gambling piece is up and running.
“Until we’re fully integrated online, I don’t think we’ll be able to capitalize on revenue. But from a consumer protection standpoint, from getting players interested, certainly getting up and going in person is helpful,” Iden said.
Online Betting Passed by Tennessee’s House of Representatives
It seems that online sports betting will come to Tennessee as the House of Representatives passed a piece of legislation recently that will legalize this type of activity on the web. Tennessee could become one of the few states that gave two thumbs up to betting on sports online.
The Tennessean newspaper published a report stating that a body consisting of 
99 seats approved House Bill 1. 58 voted in favor while 37 opposed the bill, with some of the opposers being pretty loud in their protest against it. According to them, legalizing online sports betting could pave the way to a big increase in gambling addiction.
The legislation regarding online sports betting was written by a Democratic Representative in Tennesse, Rick Staples. It will be sent to the Tennessee State Senate, and if they pass the bill, we could witness online sports betting in Tennessee very soon. The legislative piece was also approved by the Finance Committee, which consists of 33 members. Finally, the Governor of Tennesse, Bill Lee, will have to say his words in the end and put a signature so that everything can be set into motion.
According to Staples, Tennessee is in a unique position right now and it has huge potential to generate revenue from online sports betting. Namely, Staples argues that all the neighboring countries, including Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, and Arkansas do not allow this type of activity, which means that many people would visit Tennessee to enjoy activities such as sports betting. Furthermore, he added that sports betting operators would use cutting-edge geo-location technology which will allow aficionados from the neighboring states to enter the so-called ‘Volunteer State’ and be able to place wagers.
According to The Tennessean, if House Bill 1 is ratified, it would allow everyone who is located in the state of Tennessee to take part in legal online betting on sports. The only boundary would be that they are of minimum gambling age which is 21 ins this southern state. Punters will have an opportunity to place wagers on both professional and collegiate sports.
On the other hand, the bill doesn’t include land-based sports betting facilities. In other words, everyone who wants to place bets will have to do that exclusively at online platforms. Furthermore, the bill suggests that $50 million in tax revenues will have to be allocated to the local government, gambling addiction programs, and education.
Furthermore, there are a couple of prohibitions that will take place if this legislative piece becomes active, and it is mainly aimed towards prohibited punters. People who are registered as athletes, referees or team owners will be strictly forbidden to partake in online sports betting as it is believed they could compromise the integrity of sports and entier leagues.
House Bill 1 was introduced as a consequence of the invalidation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in May last year. This act was largely responsible for the fact that sports betting was largely unavailable in the US for the past two decades. In fact, only Nevada offered sports betting services before PASPA was invalidated. However, some states were ready and welcomed this decision made by the United States Supreme Court. At the moment, sports betting services are available (or being actively discussed) in Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Mississippi, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico. Furthermore, 31 additional states are currently considering this option and its advantages and disadvantages. States such as Iowa, Washington, and Indiana are some of the states that are very likely to make the first step soon.
