Connecticut Legislation Proposes Sports Betting Limits, Interstate Online Poker

Posted on: March 10, 2025, 10:35h. 

Last updated on: March 10, 2025, 10:44h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

• Connecticut lawmakers are considering several gaming bills
• An online poker bill has been filed
• A cap on online sports bets could also be initiated

The Connecticut General Assembly is in session through June 4. Until then, the legislature will continue mulling several bills regarding gaming.

Last week, lawmakers in the Hartford capital fielded another bill about gaming.

The Senate legislation was introduced by the chamber’s General Law Committee. It’s set for a public hearing this Wednesday, March 12.

The sports betting and online poker statute joins several other gaming bills introduced this session.

Other measures that remain active include legislation to authorize and regulate in-flight sports betting on commercial flights that originate or end in Connecticut, a pitch that faces long odds because of federal law. Another statute lingering in the halls of the Hartford capital would lift the ban on sports bets involving in-state colleges and universities.

Sports Betting Limits, Online Poker

SB1464, if passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Ned Lamont (D), would impose “maximum sports wagers” for online sports betting. The legislation doesn’t specify how much that ceiling might be, but instead tasks Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli “to adopt regulations establishing maximum sports wagers for online sports wagering.”

The bill would additionally authorize peer-to-peer casino games online through the state’s two legal, regulated iGaming platforms, DraftKings and FanDuel. The iGaming leaders are partnered with the state’s two federally recognized tribes.

Peer-to-peer casino game means a card game, contest, or tournament, including, but not limited to, a poker game, contest, or tournament in which patrons compete against one another and do not compete against the licensee operating such game,” the bill reads.

SB1464 would allow DraftKings and FanDuel, which are respectively the online casino and mobile sportsbook partners of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, to charge a fee, or rake, for facilitating the interactive poker games.

Since Connecticut is home to 3.7 million people, which ranks 29th in the United States, having enough players to field a robust, 24/7 online poker environment is a concern. That’s why SB1464 would give Lamont the authority to enter into a player-sharing arrangement with other legal online poker states.

The player liquidity condition would likely result in Connecticut joining the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement. The framework currently has five participating states that share online poker pools. They are Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and West Virginia. Pennsylvania is considering joining, too, which would deliver the pool a flush of substantial new players. 

Sweeps Casino Bill

While considering gaming expansion and consumer safeguards, Connecticut lawmakers are also reviewing a bill to ban online websites that bill themselves as “sweepstakes” platforms, but critics say facilitate illegal gambling.

Senate Bill 1235 would provide that anyone found to be conducting unauthorized online gambling masquerading as sweepstakes or promotional drawings be subjected to a Class D felony charge. A person found guilty of such a charge is subjected to a prison sentence of up to five years and a $5,000 fine.