Seventeen Connecticut lawmakers have backed a new bill that would allow the state’s two tribes to run CT sports betting.

SB 146 would authorize the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and the Mohegan Tribe of Indians to offer online sports betting and retail betting on tribal land.

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The tribes would also be allowed to offer online casino, while the state lottery could offer online services.

The initial filing is just two pages long and light on details.

Duopoly better than nothing in Connecticut?

It’s an interesting development in Connecticut, where it looks like the tribes are going to get their way.

Earlier in January, Gov. Ned Lamont threw his weight behind sports betting in his State of the State address.

“Sports betting, internet gaming and legalized marijuana are happening all around us,” Lamont said. “Let’s not surrender these opportunities to out-of-state markets or even worse, underground markets.”

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The tribes have made it clear they won’t let Connecticut online sports betting happen without them in charge.

They have exclusive gaming rights in Connecticut in exchange for 25% of slot revenue and contend those exclusive rights include sports betting as well.

Who benefits from the new sports betting bill?

Apart from the tribes themselves, the big winners appear to be DraftKings and Kambi.

DraftKings has a deal to run betting for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation – the owner of Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Meanwhile, Kambi has a deal with Mohegan.

The interesting subplot here is DraftKings will likely be using its new SBTech platform to compete against Mohegan on its former Kambi platform.

As for the size of the opportunity, Connecticut is a small state with around 3.6 million people. However, it is very well off. The state has the third-highest GDP per capita in the US, behind Massachusetts and New York.

Before Christmas, the tribes and politicians were very confident about getting sports betting done in 2021. SB 146 looks like the first step towards that happening.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two lawmakers announced plans Tuesday to introduce legislation that would put Minnesota among 25 other states and Washington, D.C., in legalizing sports betting, hoping to change their luck after attempts in past years failed to gain support.

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The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Karla Bigham, of Cottage Grove, and Republican Rep. Pat Garofalo, of Farmington, would allow on-site sports wagering at tribal casinos for the first year, then mobile betting for those who sign up for an account at a casino. Revenue — which would be taxed at 6% for on-site betting and 8% for mobile — would go into the state’s general fund, and 0.5% would go toward compulsive gambling assistance programs.

The bill would also create a wagering commission that would include tribes and racetracks among its members.

Bigham and Garofalo argue the additional tax revenue would help the state, but “the big win” would be to provide consumer protections to individuals who are gambling anyway, whether through offshore websites or illicit underground operations.

“It’s already done flagrantly and it’s time shine some light on it, put some guardrails around it, protections around it, and quite honestly we need to legalize it,” Bigham said. “If that state makes a few bucks while we’re at it, good for us.”

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Minnesota’s tribal nations oppose the legislation, and all four of the state’s top legislative leaders have expressed disinterest even though the measure could help close a $1.3 billion budget deficit.

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While Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said during his budget address Tuesday that he’d be open to the legislation, GOP Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, of East Gull Lake, said lawmakers’ focus on the budget and the nature of a socially distanced legislative session make its success unlikely this year.

“Any major policy item that has a lot of disagreement I don’t foresee happening this year. But in addition, many of us just don’t think it’s the right thing to do for Minnesota,” he said.

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Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.