The beginning of the week saw the state of Connecticut continue its rapid expansion in gambling, with the launch of the first retail sports betting site in the state.
The Connecticut Lottery Corporation opened its first brick-and-mortar sports betting venue in New Haven on October 25th. The first official in-person wager in a retail sports betting venue in the state took place at 2:00 PM at Sports Haven. As CasinoGamesPro already reported, online casino and sports betting services were fully released in Connecticut a week ago, on October 19th.
In-person sports betting in the state is offered in partnership between the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, Rush Street Interactive and Sportech.
The cut of the ceremonial red ribbon on October 25th officially gave the start to the much-awaited retail sports betting services in the Nutmeg State. Under the provisions of the latest gambling industry expansion of the state, the Connecticut Lottery Corporation will be given the right to open 15 locations across the state, with venues set to be situated in Hartford, Bridgeport, Stamford, and other strategic sites. A sports betting venue is set to be established at the Bradley International Airport, too.
Customers will be able to place their wagers thanks to the brand Play Sugar House. Connecticut Governor Net Lamont was among the first ones who took advantage of the new gambling service and placed a $20 wager on football.
An Overall of 15 Retail Locations for Sports Betting to Be Operated by Connecticut Lottery Corp.
The Monday opening of the first brick-and-mortar sportsbook location in Connecticut came less than a week from the official start of online casino gambling, sports betting and lottery sales, which became available for local residents on apps compatible with their mobile devices.
Also, on September 30th, the two tribal-owned casino venues in the state – the Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Mohegan Sun casino – started offering sports betting services in Connecticut under their newest gambling compacts with the state.
Two other retail sports betting sites of Connecticut Lottery Corporation are expected to start operation at the Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks and in Stamford soon. Then, locations at Manchester, Norwalk, New Britain, Milford, Hartford, Waterbury and Torrington will follow. As mentioned above, Connecticut Lottery Corporation has a total of 15 in-person retail sports betting locations planned, with additional locations in Bridgeport and Hartford set to be revealed at a later date.
Analysts have shared estimates that the state is expected to receive an overall revenue of $170 million over the 10-year contract of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation. The Chairman of the Lottery Board, Rob Simmelkjaer, however, has shared that he expects the money received by the state from sports betting to grow even more over time.
So far, under the terms of the compacts of the two federally recognized tribes, the state of Connecticut granted the exclusive gambling rights for offering gambling services to the Mohegans and the Mashantucket Pequots in exchange for a 25% tax on their slot revenue.
Governor Ned Lamont and the General Assembly of Connecticut enacted the sports betting legislation earlier in 2021, authorizing the largest expansion of legal gambling services that the state has seen since the opening of the two tribal casino venues in the 1990s. The expansion recognizes and favors the rise of digital technology and the increasing popularity of online gambling, which has already advanced to other US states along with retail and digital sports betting services.
