Summary
- Since October 2021, Connecticut has earned over $45m in revenues.
- Online casino gaming averages $3 million in monthly earnings.
- Problem-gambling hotline calls are up 134%.
Connecticut legalized online sports betting and casino gaming back in October 2021 and within a year’s time frame, has seen great success from the services.
Over $45 million in revenues have surfaced from online and in-person sports betting plus online casino games in the state. The uptick in revenues is a good thing for the state, but one caveat is that the number of problem gambling calls have increased due to ease of access to gaming.
Industry Revenues Remain High
So far, the online industry has resulted in high revenues on a monthly basis. For online casino games, the state sees around $3 million in earnings monthly so far this year. Online sports betting generates around $750,000 a month.
The state has an 18% tax on online casino games and a 13.75% tax on online sports betting. The tax on casino games will increase to 20% after the industry has matured by five years. Last month, the state earned $1.58 million in revenues from sports betting in the online sector and a much higher $3.4 million from iGaming.
The state offers online services via the Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequots. The two tribes fought hard for many years to be able to offer online gaming. Once legislation was passed, the tribes were allowed to offer sports betting and online casino games to anyone 21 years of age or older in the state.
An Increase in Gambling Addiction
The negative to the increase in revenues is the uptick in gambling addictions in Connecticut. The problem-gambling hotline has reported that calls are up 134% since online sports betting and casino services began.
The Connecticut Council of Problem Gambling is reporting that addictions now are younger males who have a problem with sports betting. Before gambling was expanded, the idea was that those who lived near a casino were at risk for addiction.
Now that services can be accessed online with ease, it is much easier for an individual to become addicted to gambling. The Council says that sports betting issues seem to occur from event-driven betting while online casino issues can be ongoing because players log in each day to place wagers.
To help combat any gambling issues in the state, the tribes and the Lottery must provide $4.3 million each year to program assistance. Funds have already been used by the Council to hire counselors to help with the increase in calls and to help those who have a gambling addiction.
It is expected that more recommendations will come from legislators on how to combat the rise in addiction, including possibly capping advertising via media outlets.
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