With Connecticut’s legislative session wrapping up on May 9, it’s unclear which bills on gambling in the state will make it to the finish line before lawmakers hit the campaign trail.
Last week House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said lawmakers “need to move forward with a comprehensive plan of what gambling looks like.” But his comments came a day after the Appropriations Committee defeated a bill that would have funded a strategic plan for gambling expansion.
Lawmakers who want an open bidding process for a new casino possibly in Bridgeport, aren’t giving up. Bridgeport Representative Chris Rosario, a Democrat, says his colleagues still support a bill for a request for proposals from casino developers for a new facility.
Meanwhile, lawmakers still need to decide how they want to handle the potential federal legalization of sports betting, depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on New Jersey’s challenge of a 1992 law forbidding all but Nevada and three other states from authorizing gambling on college and professional sports.
Some lawmakers argue they need more information about Connecticut’s market for sports betting and other forms of gambling, and claim that’s why an in-depth study needs to be approved this session.
