Online sports betting kicks off in Connecticut with a soft launch that is limited to 750 customers on each of the three sportsbooks: FanDuel, DraftKings and Rush Street Interactive. They have contracted with the state Lottery, Mohegan Sun Casino and Foxwoods Casino.
State regulators have permitted the soft launch to begin at 3 p.m. Tuesday. The wagering will be limited to eight hours on the first day and will gradually expand to 24 hours by the end of the week, said Michelle Seagull, commissioner for the state Department of Consumer Protection.
“The way the law and the arrangement with the state’s tribal partners works is that they have to make certain financial contributions to the state so we want to make sure we understand how those revenue reports would work,” Seagull said. “If there’s little glitches along the way we would expect to work with them so it’s a really smooth opening when it opens up for the rest of the state.”
Mohegan Tribal Chairman James Gessner said online gaming would help protect casino jobs and generate additional state tax revenue.
“It’s just exciting that people won’t have to travel to go do their sports wagering or online betting,” he said.
Legal sports betting in the state launched last month with some issues around placing wagers on the WNBA team Connecticut Sun. Regulators hope to resolve those issues when full online sports betting and gaming opens statewide next week.
