State collects $1.7 million in first month of online gaming, sports betting
Gov. Ned Lamont announced late Wednesday afternoon that the state collected about $1.7 million in tax revenue from online gaming and sports wagering in October.
Nearly $1.2 million of the total came from the online casino gaming operated by the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, respective owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, while nearly $513,000 came from sports wagering provided by the casinos and the Connecticut Lottery Corp.
The funds will be deposited in the state’s general fund.
The tribes’ online casino gaming began with a soft launch Oct. 12. They joined the lottery on that date in a soft launch of online sports wagering. The lottery introduced a retail sports betting operation Oct. 25.
The casinos’ on-site sports betting, which debuted Sept. 30, is not taxed by the state.
“This first revenue collection for our state reinforces the process and approach by my administration when it came to ensuring our sports betting and iCasino platforms worked seamlessly for consumers,” Lamont said in a statement. “We worked tirelessly with our casino and state partners to ensure Connecticut consumers would have positive user experiences across platforms and that is exactly what these results illustrate.”
The casinos paid 18% of their gross online gaming revenue to the state. Foxwoods paid the state $649,879, while Mohegan Sun paid $545,478.
The casinos and the lottery paid 13.75% of their taxable gross sports betting revenue to the state. Foxwoods paid the state $370,429, while Mohegan Sun paid $83,810.
The lottery paid the state $29,465 in taxes on gross online sports betting revenue and $29,247 in taxes on gross retail sports betting revenue.
“We’re encouraged by the early results showing a clear enthusiasm and interest in online sports betting and gaming in Connecticut,” Rodney Butler, the Mashantucket chairman, said in a statement. “We’re proud to deliver new gaming experiences with DraftKings that also drive valuable revenue to the state.
"The engagement sets a promising benchmark and we expect the momentum to only build as more consumers get in on the action, and the NFL season peaks over the coming months,” he said.
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