The Connecticut Lottery Corporation’s board of directors on Thursday approved spending $5.4 million over the next two years to bring keno to at least 600 locations in the state, according to the Associated Press.
The AP said the state must still reach an agreement with the two tribes that operate Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, which are currently the only entities that offer the game.
That state’s existing agreements with the Mashantucket Pequots and the Mohegans give the tribes the exclusive right to run gambling establishments in the state, in exchange for giving the state 25 percent of their slots revenues.
The state has offered the tribes — which have said they believe keno is gambling, not a lottery game — 12.5 percent of the state’s keno revenue. That could amount to $4.5 million in the keno program’s second year.
The state is banking on keno getting up and running. Its budget calls for $3.8 million in keno revenue this fiscal year and $27 million next year.
