With Mashantucket Pequot Chairman Rodney Butler calling it “nothing short of historic,” thousands of Connecticut bettors placed online sports wagers and played online casino games for the first time October 19.
This followed a successful seven days of a “soft launch” on October 12.
The launch of online sports betting for the Pequot tribe, owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Mohegan tribe, owners of the Mohegan Sun, came as both sought to expand their gaming footprint 30 years after they achieved federal recognition and later became casino operators.
Although they operated virtually without competition—other than each other—in the Northeast for 15 years, that changed in the last decade as casinos began proliferating in nearby states. The launch of sports betting was a welcome break in that trend. Chairman Butler told reporters, “It really expands the ecosystem of gaming and the combination of in-person and online just extends that experience.”
Foxwoods has partnered with the sports betting operator DraftKings and the Mohegans have partnered with FanDuel for their online offerings. The Connecticut Lottery, the other entity in the state allowed to operate sportsbooks, has partnered with Rush Street Interactive (RSI) to launch the PlaySugarHouse online sports book for mobile devices and computers.
RSI CEO Richard Schwartz commented, “We are very pleased to formally launch our award-winning online sportsbook across Connecticut following a smooth and successful trial period that demonstrated the safety and reliability of our platform.” Schwartz added, “We are especially excited to come to market as the NBA and NHL seasons commence and with the MLB playoffs and NFL and collegiate football seasons all underway.
One phase of sports betting remains to be completed: final regulatory approvals for the 15 in-person betting kiosks that the Lottery will be deploying through SportsTech OTB venues. Lottery Chairman Rob Simmelkjaer later noted, “Our retail sportsbook launch should be right around the corner, also bringing a convenient experience for in-person players throughout the state.”
The state joins six others in offering online casino games such as blackjack, video poker and roulette. The Department of Consumer Protection has approved more than 160 games for the DraftKings app and 130 for the FanDuel app. Mohegan Sun Digital says it expects to eventually offer more than 250 slot and table games online.
More than half of U.S. states offer some form of sports betting, although none of them border Connecticut. This means bettors from New York and Massachusetts must physically cross the border to place wagers since the app technology can pinpoint their location.
Kevin Hennesey, FanDuel’s director of publicity, commented, “The interesting thing about Connecticut is that you … border two states that do not have legal sports betting.” He added, “So that sort of puts you on par with New Jersey, where New Jersey had that for a long time. New Jersey had originally Pennsylvania and New York. And that’s why New Jersey has kind of become almost a Nevada of the East Coast. Connecticut has that same opportunities.”
Hennesey also pointed out that it is unusual for a state to launch online sports betting and casino games simultaneously.
The temporary sportsbook operations the tribes opened for the rollout at their casinos will be replaced eventually by dedicated permanent lounges. Foxwoods plans a ribbon-cutting next month, and the Mohegan will open theirs sometime this winter.
