The Connecticut legislature is jointly considering legalizing recreational pot smoking and sports betting. The state lags behind the rest of the country’s humming economy and some legislators see legalizing what have been regarded as vices in one of the states with the deepest Puritan roots as a way to generate more money.
They estimate $2 billion in the case of sports betting. Last year lawmakers created a framework for legal sports betting, but actual language needs to be passed.
Standing athwart this effort is the state’s two gaming tribes, the Mashantucket Pequot and the Mohegan, who operate the state’s two Indian casinos. The tribes insist that their tribal state gaming compacts guarantee them a monopoly on all casino gaming, and they regard sports betting as casino gaming, although that has historically been the case only in Nevada.
State Attorney General George Jepsen disputes that interpretation but the tribes threaten to withhold 25 percent payments to the state if the compacts are violated. The tribes have been negotiating with Governor Dannel P. Malloy on the percentages they would pay the state if they offer sports betting. Malloy has said he may call a special session of the legislature to address the issue.
Unless he does so lawmakers don’t return to session until next year, when Malloy will be turning over the governor’s mansion to whomever is elected to succeed him.
Chuck Bunnell, Mohegan spokesman, commented last week, “We are bullish on the potential for sports wagering to assist us in growing our business and promoting tourism in Connecticut.” He added, “we are talking and are mutually committed to explore every possibility to bring this option to Connecticut.”
Businesses that oppose giving the tribes exclusive rights to sports betting include Sportech, which operates 16 locations in the state that offer pari-mutuel wagering.
Sportech CEO Andrew Gaughan declared, “We agree with the attorney general.” Anticipating that Jepsen is right, Sportech is planning to add eight new wagering venues throughout the state.
The state currently allows medicinal marijuana use, but the Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana is urging lawmakers to follow the example of states like California, which have legalized recreational use. In April such a bill was approved by the legislature’s appropriations committee, but did not come to a vote in either chamber.
Sam Tracy, director of the Coalition, told CNBC “We are organizing our growing coalition of organizations and community leaders to hit the ground running in the spring. His group estimates that legalizing marijuana could create almost 20,000 jobs and put $180 million in taxes to the state’s budget.
