Late last week, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed legislation into law that will legalize online poker gaming along with casinos and sports betting. House Bill 6451 was able to gain enough support and is now law, coming into effect on July 1. The signature was the last step needed for the bill to become law.
After Lamont signed the measure, the office of the governor issued a statement, saying that a new era of gaming is now coming to the state. Connecticut is now ready to provide a modern and advanced gaming experience to players, becoming competitive with neighboring states as well.
The state has been trying to pass such legislation for quite some time, going back years. In 2021, the House bill was able to gain enough support from lawmakers to move forward relatively quickly. Only a small number of lawmakers were against the measure, stating that excessive gambling could become an issue among residents.
Now that the option for online poker is available, when will services start? The law allows only the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes to offer services in the state. Before any gaming can begin online, the compact signed by the state and the tribes must be changed and approved by the United States Department of the Interior.
With the way the industry will be set up, the state will only offer two sites in the beginning. It is unclear as to if the tribes will decide to offer a proprietary platform or if they will team up with online poker brands to get started.
We expect that as the process of approving the compact moves forward, both tribes will start to provide information on how they will get started, in each new facet of gaming. It will certainly be exciting to see a new state start to offer online poker gaming in the United States!
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