The two federally recognized tribes in Connecticut are digging their heels deeper into their demands for exclusivity of sports betting in the state. The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes publicly rejected a sports betting bill that is supported by Connecticut Governor Ned. Lamont, which lets the tribes in on the action, together with off-track sports betting operator, Sportech and the Connecticut Lottery. Gov. Lamont prefers this bill to a larger gambling expansion bill that was introduced by legislators recently.
However, the tribes don’t want to compromise on what they perceive as their exclusivity on gambling in Connecticut. They continue to demand the sole right to operate sports betting in the state and explained why they won’t back the bill.
“Because it goes in the face of our agreements that we have with the state and that we’ve had that have been incredibly prosperous for the state and for the tribes for almost 30 years,” said Rodney Butler, the chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.
“If you have those agreements in place and you believe that we can move forward with sports betting, why not do it with your existing partners under the current agreements that we have?”
The tribal nations already have a bill in the pipeline, pushed by State Senator Cathy Osten, that could potentially award them exclusivity on sports betting. Part of this proposal could see a joint tribal venture built a bricks and mortar casino in Bridgeport.
In the meantime, the tribes are threatening to harden their stand and place sanctions on the gaming compacts that they have in place with Connecticut. This week, at a public hearing in Hartford, CT, Rodney Butler told lawmakers that the tribes were mulling the possibility of holding back the traditional gross slot machine revenue payment which they make annually. The tribes regularly contribute 25% of that revenue, which amounted to $225 million last year.
