Expanded gambling raised $1.7 million in revenue for Connecticut since mid-October start
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Expanded gambling in Connecticut that began in mid-October with sports betting and online casino games has generated $1.7 million in state revenue, Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday.
Online casino gambling brought in $1.2 million and sports betting raised about $513,000. The money will be deposited into the state’s general fund.
“This first revenue collection for our state reinforces the process and approach by my administration when it came to ensuring our sports betting and iCasino platforms worked seamlessly for consumers,” Lamont said. “We’re off to a great start with this new gaming marketplace and we’re looking forward to years of success.”
The payment due the state is 13.75% of gross gaming revenue for sports wagering and 18% for online casino gaming until 2026 when it will increase to 20%. The share of revenue was negotiated by the Lamont administration and the Mashantucket Pequots who own and operate Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Mohegans who run the Mohegan Sun.
Retail sports wagering through the Connecticut Lottery began on Oct. 25, though a so-called soft launch with limited online gambling and sports betting began earlier that month.
The two casinos operate sports betting parlors and the Connecticut Lottery Corp. operates gambling retail sites that will eventually grow in number.
Lamont has said the state expects gambling revenue to generate $100 million a year for the state over the next four or five years. At least at the start, revenue from expanded gambling will be a small share of the two-year, $46 billion budget enacted in June by the governor and General Assembly. Casino executives are optimistic that revenue will rise.
Rodney Butler, Mashantucket Pequot tribal chairman, said he’s encouraged by the early results “showing a clear enthusiasm and interest in online sports betting and gaming in Connecticut.”
“The engagement sets a promising benchmark and we expect the momentum to only build as more consumers get in on the action and the NFL season peaks over the coming months,” he said.
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In contrast, slot machine revenue at the two casinos, which have operated in Connecticut since the 1990s, dwarfed what sports gambling and expanded online games raised. Foxwoods posted $31.7 million in slot revenue in October and Mohegan Sun reported $44.3 million for the month.
Slot revenue at the casinos rebounded more than 20% from October 2020 when the casinos operated at a reduced capacity due to COVID-19.
Lamont began negotiations with the two tribes shortly after he took office in January 2019. A major sticking point was the future of the compacts that gave exclusive gambling rights to the Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequots in return for 25% of slot machine revenue.
The governor insisted on a broad revision of gambling legislation in Connecticut to capture sports betting revenue that other states were generating.
