Connecticut Lawmakers consider special Sports Betting Legislative Session

If sports betting isn’t legalized in Connecticut before the General Assembly is adjourned on June 5, state lawmakers say that a special legislative session will be considered. Although lawmakers are seriously considering the legalization of the bill, they may hold a special legislative session if the bill isn’t passed in time.

House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said that getting the bill passed is an important matter as many other states have already legalized sports betting. He added that residents of the state are already gambling on sports events “in one way, shape or form”, which is why it is important that the bill is passed sooner than later.

Ever since the U.S Supreme Court, in May 2018, struck down a federal law that prohibited sports betting across the country except Nevada, seven states including New Jersey, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New Mexico, and Mississippi have legalized sports betting for their residents.

Hurdles for Connecticut lawmakers

Legalizing sports betting may be a challenging task for Connecticut lawmakers because even though the two native American groups in the state – The Mohegan and the Mashantucket Pequot tribes – maintain exclusivity when it comes to gambling, the Connecticut Lottery, as well as the off-track pari-mutuel parlors, want to take control of sports betting.

Commenting on this clash, Rep. Joe Verrengia of West Hartford-D said that he believes the new bill will not be able to serve the interest of everyone, including the tribes, as there are a bunch of different stakeholders in the matter with their interests.

Just last month, Verrengia sponsored a bill that proposed that the tribes, state lottery as well off-track wagering sites operate sportsbooks. The bill also suggested that 0.25 percent of the total betting handle go to the sports leagues as an integrity fee.

The integrity fee collected is to aid the sports leagues to make up for any increase in monitoring costs that are associated with the legalization of sports betting. No other state legalizing sports betting after May last year collect integrity fee, with many politicians condemning such fees and even calling it an “extortion”.

Stephen Sweeney, the president of New Jersey Senate said that with integrity fees, leagues are asking for money so that they can allow the games to be played fairly. By asking for money, the leagues must now do something to preserve their games’ integrity, which insinuates that this is something they haven’t done in the past.