Lawmakers Introduce Legislation To Launch Connecticut Online PokerRep. Tony Scott Introduced Legislation To Allow Gov. Ned Lamont To Join MSIGA |
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The U.S. Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement may pick up a new state soon.
Connecticut lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would add the state to the shared liquidity compact.
The Constitution State legalized iGaming, including online poker, in May 2021. However, there isn’t an online poker room operating in the jurisdiction. Connecticut has a population of just 3.7 million, making a successful ringed-in market unlikely, but it could be a boost to the MSIGA.
Rep. Tony Scott introduced Senate Bill 1464 to the Joint General Law Committee last week and would “empower the governor to enter into agreements for the purpose of authorizing online gaming operators to conduct multijurisdictional Internet gaming for peer-to-peer casino games.”
PokerStars Connecticut On The Horizon?
The bill allows for tribal and commercial operators to run online poker in the state and sets a date of July 1 to go into effect. Entering into agreements with foreign jurisdictions would be barred under the bill and only allow one account per player on a platform – putting the industry standard of banning multi-accounting into law in the state.
Under the current Connecticut landscape, the state’s two tribal nations were given exclusivity over online gambling.
The Mohegan Tribe, which owns and operates Mohegan Sun Casino, partnered with FanDuel. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns and operates Foxwoods, partnered with DraftKings. As a result, DraftKings Casino and FanDuel Casino are the only two sports betting and online casino options in the state.
But neither FanDuel or DraftKings have a poker client in any of the other states they operate in. But FanDuel and PokerStars are both owned by Flutter, thus making a PokerStars the only viable poker operator currently set up for a possible Connecticut launch.
PokerStars is operating in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey so far.
For another operator to be available in Connecticut, the most likely route comes from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe agreeing to a partnership with a separate commercial entity.
Bill Makes Multi-Accounting Illegal
Multi-accounting has become a bigger issue in the online poker world after several high-stakes pros have been alleged to have been playing on multiple accounts in recent years.
The bill also spells out some changes and additions for other parts of the industry including: requiring gaming operators to establish toll-free telephone numbers for customers to receive assistance in resolving online gaming issues; making operators take action in response to errors in sports betting odds; disclosing the maximum sports wagers established for online betting; and requiring the commissioner of consumer protection to adopt regulations establishing maximum sports wagers for online betting.
Pennsylvania was also recently asked to join the MSIGA, with some poker sites expected to share liquidity by the end of the first quarter. With 13 million people, adding the Keystone State and Connecticut could boost the interstate agreement population pool by almost 14 million people.
Other members of the agreement include Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, and West Virginia. However, poker operators haven’t launched a site in either Delaware or West Virginia.
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