• Sweepstakes casinos in Connecticut are targeted in a new bill
• SB 1235 has only two days to make it out of the legislature and onto the governor’s desk
• The bill also seeks to add Connecticut to MSIGA and expand the number of licensed sportsbooks

Opposition against the sweepstakes sector, as well as prediction markets, has been building up in Connecticut, and, if the events of the recent days are any indication, there is political will to oust the sweepstakes sector at the very least.

Sweepstakes opposition mounts in Connecticut just as well

A new Senate Bill – SB 1235 – passed the Senate in a unanimous vote, targeting both online sweepstakes casinos and third-party lottery courier services in the same stride, and seeking to prohibit them.

The bill is now due in the House of Representatives with less than two days left before the session ends on June 4. Following its 36-0 passage in the Senate, though, there has been little momentum in the lower chamber.

Meanwhile, the bill’s language is clearly defined against the sweepstakes sector, arguing that promoting sweepstakes or promotional drawings on simulated gambling devices would be outlawed should the bill pass.

Whether Connecticut succeeds, though, is doubtful. Following Montana’s success in restricting sweepstakes, there has been no other state to successfully pass a similar legislation.

Connecticut is most likely going to fall short as well as the Wednesday deadline is now looming and a last-ditch push is unlikely, given that the bill would have to jump through a committee and then head out for a floor vote.

From more sportsbooks to more online gaming

Apart from taking a gung-ho approach on sweepstakes and third-party lotteries, SB 1235 strikes a more conciliatory tone when it comes to online gambling, with the bill outlining changes to the state’s gambling regulation that would allow it to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement or MSIGA, which allows several states that have legalized online poker specifically to pool their player bases and prize pools, offering more attractive offers at home.

SB 1235 may be overplaying its hand, however, as it also recommends expansion of the current sportsbook licensee holders and adding more regulated operators to strengthen market competitiveness.

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