Online poker included in Connecticut’s newly legalized iGaming industry
Just a few days ago, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed House Bill 6451 into law. Online sports betting, casino, and poker games are now legalized in the state. The change is a big one for the poker community, as online poker is often left out of iGaming legislation in the US. Connecticut is now the 7th state in the US to have regulated iPoker gaming.
Class III Gaming Compact Changes
With the new legislation, the Class III gaming compact of the Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is changed. These tribes are responsible for the Mohegan Sun Casino and the Foxwoods facility in the state.
Both tribes will be allowed to offer all formats of online gaming, including poker. It is still unclear as to how the tribes will offer poker gaming. Will they try to keep operations in-house and go with a proprietary platform?
Perhaps the tribes will decide to work with a top operator in the online poker industry such as PokerStars or partypoker? Right now, no information has been provided as to what the tribes plan on doing when it comes to online poker services.
There is no doubt that major companies like PokerStars will hope to be able to enter into the state of Connecticut. It will be interesting to watch and see which brands try to garner the attention of the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes for a potential partnership.
In a press release, Governor Lamont commented on the law by stating:
“By signing this bill into law, Connecticut is now on the cusp of providing a modern, technologically advanced gaming experience that will be competitive with our neighboring states and positions us for success into the future.”
Moving Forward
There is still legal action to consider even though the bill has been signed into law. The Bureau of Indian Affairs within the U.S. Department of Interior must still approve the tribal compact amendments. When the approval is given, the tribes can then start to set up the new services in the state.
The tribes look forward to getting started as the new services will help tribal members as well as the residents of the state. Rodney Butler, the Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe pointed out that gaming is more than business to the tribe. The services help the tribe to fund its government, pay for the education needs of children, as well as care for the elderly. Funds are also used to provide healthcare to tribal members.