Connecticut to Re-Examine Online Gambling

Connecticut, which had dabbled with the idea of licensing online gambling websites earlier in the year, is looking to revisit that option.

Rep. Stephen Dargan, co-chairman of the legislative public safety committee, said on Tuesday his state should jump on the bandwagon come January.

Rep. Stephen Dargan, co-chairman of the legislative public safety committee,

"Absolutely, it's something we need to look at," he said.

From CTNow.com: 

Dargan, D-West Haven,  said in an interview Tuesday that he expects his committee to at least consider the matter because Connecticut faces continued state budget deficits at the same time that revenue from the two tribal casinos in the state continues to diminish.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy wasn't enthusiastic about online gambling last year and there's been no change in his attitude, one of his top political lieutenants said Tuesday. "Certainly, it's the legislature's prerogative" to consider online gambling, said senior adviser Roy Occhiogrosso, "but it's not something that the governor has any intention of pushing."

"It's not something he supports," Occhiogrosso said, and "it's not something he thinks the legislature will follow through and send him a bill on." Would Malloy veto a bill if the legislature passed it? That decision can't be made "until you actually see a piece of legislation on your desk," Occhiogrosso answered.

Under a current state “compact” with both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, each operation turns over 25 percent of its slot machine revenue to the state annually.  This didn’t sit well with the tribes, which worried that offering legalized online gambling might interfere with the arrangement. 

Nearby New Jersey is set to become the third state after Nevada and Delaware to legalize Web gambling as early as late November.

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com