Zona de Azar USA – Draft Bill Would Allow Online Gaming, New Casino in Connecticut

USA.- August 2nd 2019 www.zonadeazar.com Online casinos, online poker, online and retail sports betting, online lottery sales and a new tribal gaming venue may all soon be legalised in Connecticut, should a new bill be passed by the state legislature.

The bill would require the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, who operate the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos respectively, to spend a minimum of $100 million on an entertainment and gambling facility in Bridgeport. The tribes may also operate a casino in Hartford and two additional municipalities of the tribe’s choosing.

In return, the tribes would be granted authorisation to take sports wagers at their casinos, as well as through mobile applications, online and other locations in the state. The bill proposes a 10% tax rate for poker, both online and at casinos, a 10% tax on online sports bets and an 8% tax on retail sports bets.

The bill is yet to be filed, though a draft was published by regional news outlet WFSB on Wednesday (31 July).

However it may face opposition from commercial casino operators. MGM Resorts International, which operates MGM Springfield 5 miles North of the Connecticut border and 25 miles from Hartford, has previously opposed new tribal casino projects in Connecticut built on non-tribal lands.

In July, MGM put forward an amendment to the Federal Defense Bill that would prevent tribal nations with casinos on tribal land from opening an off-reservation property in the same state.

Last week (25 July) Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment released Mohegan Sun Beyond, a new mobile app for Mohegan Sun customers.

Edited by: @MaiaDigital (Twitter) www.zonadeazar.com