Connecticut’s sports betting industry was due to launch today, October 7th, but has been pushed back due to a delay in the publication of memorandums of understanding on the federal register.
According to The Department of Consumer Protection, the necessary publication of the memorandums has been unexpectedly delayed meaning that operators are not legally allowed to launch.
The state’s two Native American tribes have been allowed to begin accepting in-person bets at their retail sportsbooks as their gaming compacts have already been published on the register permitting them to launch. Sports betting kicked off at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun last week with DraftKings operating the sportsbook at Foxwoods and FanDuel operating the sportsbook at Mohegan Sun.
However, all other operators including the Connecticut Lottery, that has partnered with Rush Interactive, must wait until the memorandums have been published on the federal register.
Speaking of the delay to the local press, Kaitlyn Krasselt, a spokesperson for the Department of Consumer Protection, said:
“We are working with the licensees to ensure their platforms are certified and in compliance with the regulations prior to launch. As such, no date has been set but we do not anticipate it to be a lengthy delay.”
Although the Department of Consumer Protection expects the issue to be dealt with shortly, there is no clear indication as to when the state lottery and online operators can expect to launch.
Image credit: Wally Gobetz / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.