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While FanDuel is currently not available in Connecticut, it could be come the start of the 2021 regular NFL season. Currently, only websites licensed in jurisdictions outside the US accept sports bets from Connecticut and have been doing so since at least 1996 (some earlier). Before BetUS came online they were a phone betting operation pre-2000 that thrived on all those UConn wagers.
The state has finally come to an agreement with the two powerful tribes that control gaming in Connecticut.
“By the time at the start of football season in the fall we should be up and running here in Connecticut,” Paul Mounds, Gov Ned Lamont’s chief of staff, told reporters at a news briefing Monday afternoon.
That includes mobile, and probably FanDuel and, in all likelihood betting on the Huskies. Some states, New Jersey included, do not permit gambling on in-state schools.
Additionally those under 21 will still need to rely on offshore books and local bookies, albeit nobody is taking bets from those under 18.
Regulation review by the General Assembly can take nearly a year, “but we will be looking to accelerate that through the legislative process,” Lamont said.
Two of Connecticut's three neighbors currently offer legal sports wagering. New York and Rhode Island offer on-site sports betting at mostly difficult-to-reach casinos from limited operators. New York is now exploring offering mobile options.
The General Assembly will have to approve the agreement with the tribal owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun and the U.S. Department of the Interior must approve changes in the compacts between Connecticut and the tribes. The state must then draft regulations.
“The wild card in the pack, of course, is how fast, the legislature gets their bill passed, but probably what we have less control over is the Department of Interior,” Lamont said. “I’d like to think we can expedite that.”
Lamont has already estimated $50 million in revenue from the new industry as part of his two-year budget. Connecticut's revenue from sports betting would likely be on par with that of Iowa, which last month recorded nearly $8 million.
It is not immediately known which agency will regulate sports betting.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
