Online sports betting is live in Connecticut – CTInsider – CT Insider

The states first legal online sports bets happened on Sept. 30 with a soft launch of the new gaming system. The Connecticut Lottery Corp., and Mohegan Sun both reported the first-ever bets on their online platforms to be $10 on the Major League Baseball playoff game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves, which the Braves won 5-4. The lottery said its bettor picked the Brewers to win while Mohegan Sun didnt disclose which team its bettor selected.

For Foxwoods, the first online sports bet was on the NCAA football matchup between the Appalachian State Mountaineersand the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns, with the bettor placing a wager for Louisiana-Lafayette to cover the spread (+4.5 points) against Appalachian State.

According to the Connecticut Lottery, the top three bet on events in thefirst full day of online sports betting using PlaySugarHouseSportsbookwere the Houston Astros vs. Boston Red Sox game, theAtlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game and theGolden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers game. The first bet after 6 a.m. on Tuesday was for $10 in favor of Ergi Kirkin to win against Raul Brancaccio at the Losinj Challenger in men's professional tennis.

As online gaming and sports betting take off in Connecticut, heres what to know about the latest addition to gaming in the state.

Nutmeggers ages 21 and older can place wagers on online casino games, as well as fantasy sports, professional sports and Olympic and international sports. E-sports and college sports do allow for wagers, but not if one of the participants is a Connecticut team playing in non-tournament event, according to the states gaming website.

As of Oct. 19, online wagering is offered through the Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribes online gaming partners, according to the state, which include:

Additionally, the Department of Consumer Protection has approved more than 130 games for the FanDuel and DraftKing apps. Both tribes can also offer iCasino,or online casino games. The Connecticut Lottery also offers PlaySugarHouse for sports wagering.

Wagering may also take place in-person at either Mohegan Sun casino or Foxwoods Resort and Casino.

In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which kept states from allowing sports betting on NFL, MLB, NBA and college-level sports games, according to U.S. News and World Report. Before the act was overturned, U.S. News reports that several states fought to overturn the act, starting with New Jersey.

In Connecticut, launching sports betting and online gaming has hinged on the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes involvement. The two tribes have separate compacts,oragreements, with the state that date back to the 1990sspelling out the percentage of revenue the tribes would contribute to the state in exchange for the rights to gaming exclusivity in Connecticut.

For online gaming and sports betting to materialize in Connecticut, the state had to amend and establish new compacts with the tribes. With the new deal, Connecticut aims to generate tens of millions of dollars in new revenues from this emerging industry, while keeping the state competitive with gaming being offered or considered in neighboring states. Among its key provisions are an 18 percent tax rate for the first five years on new online commercial casino gaming, followed by a 20 percent rate for at least the next five years. There would be a 13.75 percent tax rate on sports wagering.

People wagering on the Connecticut sites must be physically located in Connecticut; GPS fencing keeps those from other states from placing bets in the state while they are in a location outside of Connecticut. Winnings earned as a result of gambling must be reported for tax reasons.

As for the state as a whole, it expects to draw in $30 million in the first year, eventually ramping up to an estimated $100 million a year, by taxing online sports betting at 13.75 percent, and online casino games at 18 percent, rising to 20 percent after five years.

The lottery will not pay a tax because all of its revenues after expenses move to the states general fund. The size of the cut and likely profits for the three online operators FanDuel, DraftKings and Rush Street Interactives is not public.

Separately, the lottery is setting up in-person locations for sports betting, in a partnership that includes a gaming operator and Sportech, which owns and operates off-track-betting locations around the state.

Hearst CTInsider Staff Writer Ken Dixon, politics reporter Julia Bergman and columnist Dan Haar contributed to this report.

Read the original here:

Online sports betting is live in Connecticut - CTInsider - CT Insider