At Foxwoods Resort Casino, designs for a new sportsbook have been done and ready to go for some time.
The casino plans to add a sports betting operation in its existing racebook area and mobile kiosks on nearby gaming floors.
Along with Mohegan Sun, the casino, which wants to launch the book and related online wagering operations in time for the next NFL football season, is awaiting a crucial approval from Connecticut lawmakers to legalize wagering on sports.
On Tuesday, that moment suddenly felt less certain, as Gov. Ned Lamont announced that he preferred to let the Connecticut Lottery Corp. and the state’s exclusive off-track betting operator in on the betting action.
That’s a major line in the sand for the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegan tribes, who contend they alone hold the rights to sports betting in Connecticut under their nearly 30-year-old revenue sharing deal with the state.
While Lamont has expressed concerns about the state getting dragged into lengthy, costly litigation with third parties — namely MGM — over a gambling expansion, the tribes said they would withhold several hundred million dollars in slot payments to the state if the legislature follows Lamont’s lead, and that litigation would be likely.
Lamont informed the tribes of his new position during a meeting Monday, which came “out of left field,” Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Chairman Rodney Butler said in an interview Tuesday afternoon.
“It was ‘take it or leave it,’ ” Butler said. “It’s so far from what we had been talking about.”
Butler said Lamont’s concerns about the state getting sued seem misplaced, given that Connecticut gets sued regularly for all sorts of matters, and has at the helm of its legal team, “one of the best AGs on the planet.”
“The tribes litigating or stopping payments is not the best outcome,” he added.
The tribes supported broader legislation that included internet lottery, a Bridgeport casino and other measures, but importantly, the bill would give the tribes exclusive operation of sports wagering.
Butler said he pressed Lamont and his team for a more detailed explanation of the governor’s latest position, but said he left unsatisfied.
Butler predicted that Lamont’s preferred bill has “no chance” with the legislature.
In a statement Tuesday, James Gessner, chairman of the Mohegan Tribe, said Lamont’s proposal would put the state and the tribes in “an untenable position, resulting in certain litigation and ongoing missed opportunity for Connecticut taxpayers who would continue to watch neighboring states grow jobs and revenue in this area as Connecticut stands still.”
“We will continue to work with willing partners who understand and appreciate not only our existing rights as sovereign nations, but our enormous contributions to the state, its economy, and its employment base,” he said.
