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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 17
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 5941
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Introduced by:
(PS)
AN ACT AUTHORIZING SPORTS WAGERING, INTERNET G AMING
AND INTERNET KENO.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) For the purposes of this 1
section and sections 2 and 3 of this act: 2
(1) "Electronic wagering platform" or "platform" means the 3
combination of hardware, software and data networks used to 4
manage, administer, offer or control sports wagering or casino gaming 5
over the Internet, including through an Internet web site or a mobile 6
device; 7
(2) "Online casino gaming" means any game of chance, including, 8
but not limited to, blackjack, poker, dice, money-wheels, roulette, 9
baccarat, chuck-a-luck, pan game, over and under, horse race game, 10
acey-deucy, beat the dealer, bouncing ball, video facsimile game and 11
any other game of chance, conducted over the Internet, including 12
through an Internet web site or a mobile device; 13
(3) "Mashantucket Pequot memorandum of understanding" means 14
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the memorandum of understanding entered into by and between the 15
state and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe on January 13, 1993, as 16
amended from time to time; 17
(4) "Mashantucket Pequot procedures" means the Final 18
Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Procedures prescribed by the Secretary 19
of the United States Department of the Interior pursuant to 42 USC 20
2710(d)(7)(B)(vii) and published in 56 Federal Register 24996 (May 31, 21
1991), as amended from time to time; 22
(5) "MMCT Venture, LLC" means a limited liability company jointly 23
and exclusively owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and the 24
Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut; in which no other person or 25
business organization holds an equity interest and each tribe holds at 26
least a twenty-five per cent equity interest; 27
(6) "Mohegan compact" means the Tribal-State Compact entered 28
into by and between the state and the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of 29
Connecticut on May 17, 1994, as amended from time to time; 30
(7) "Mohegan memorandum of understanding" means the 31
memorandum of understanding entered into by and between the state 32
and the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut on May 17, 1994, as 33
amended from time to time; 34
(8) "Sporting event" means (A) any sporting or athletic event at 35
which two or more persons participate and receive compensation in 36
excess of actual expenses for such participation in such sporting or 37
athletic event, or (B) any sporting or athletic event sponsored by an 38
intercollegiate athletic program of an institution of higher education. 39
"Sporting event" does not include horse racing or any sporting or 40
athletic event sponsored by a minor league or high school; and 41
(9) "Sports wagering" means risking or accepting any money, credit, 42
deposit or other thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in part 43
(A) by any system or method of wagering, including, but not limited 44
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to, in person or over the Internet through an Internet web site or a 45
mobile device, and (B) based on (i) a sporting event or a portion or 46
portions of a sporting event, or (ii) the individual performance 47
statistics of an athlete or athletes in a sporting event or a combination 48
of sporting events. "Sports wagering" does not include the payment of 49
an entry fee to play fantasy contests, as defined in section 12-578aa of 50
the general statutes. 51
(b) (1) The Governor shall enter into amendments to the 52
Mashantucket Pequot procedures and to the Mashantucket Pequot 53
memorandum of understanding with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe 54
and amendments to the Mohegan compact and to the Mohegan 55
memorandum of understanding with the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of 56
Connecticut concerning the operation of sports wagering and online 57
casino gaming by (A) casino gaming facilities located on Indian lands 58
pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, P.L. 100-947, 25 USC 59
2701 et seq., and (B) a casino gaming facility at 171 Bridge Street, East 60
Windsor, Connecticut operated by MMCT Venture, LLC, as authorized 61
pursuant to section 12-578f of the general statutes. 62
(2) The amendments to the Mashantucket Pequot procedures and 63
the Mohegan compact shall include a provision that any authorization 64
of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of 65
Connecticut or MMCT Venture, LLC, to conduct sports wagering or 66
online casino gaming in the state does not terminate the moratorium 67
against the operation of video facsimile games by the Mashantucket 68
Pequot Tribe and Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut on each 69
tribe's reservation. 70
(3) The amendments to each tribe's memorandum of understanding 71
shall include a provision that any authorization of the Mashantucket 72
Pequot Tribe, the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut or MMCT 73
Venture, LLC, to conduct sports wagering or online casino gaming in 74
the state does not relieve each tribe from each tribe's obligation to 75
contribute a percentage of the gross operating revenues of video 76
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facsimile games to the state as provided in each tribe's memorandum 77
of understanding. 78
(c) No authorization to conduct sports wagering or online casino 79
gaming shall be effective unless the following conditions are met: 80
(1) The amendments to the Mashantucket Pequot procedures and to 81
the Mohegan compact are approved by the General Assembly 82
pursuant to section 3-6c of the general statutes. 83
(2) The amendments to the Mashantucket Pequot memorandum of 84
understanding and to the Mohegan memorandum of understanding 85
are approved by the General Assembly pursuant to the process 86
described in section 3-6c of the general statutes. 87
(3) The governing bodies of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and 88
Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut enact resolutions providing 89
that: (A) If MMCT Venture, LLC, fails to pay any fees or taxes due the 90
state, the tribes, as the members of MMCT Venture, LLC, waive the 91
possible defense of sovereign immunity with respect to any action or 92
claim by the state against the tribes as the members of MMCT Venture, 93
LLC, to the extent such action or claim is permitted to be brought 94
against a member of a limited liability company under state law to 95
collect any fees or taxes, while preserving any other defenses available 96
to the tribes, and (B) venue for such action or claim shall be in the 97
judicial district of Hartford. 98
(d) If MMCT Venture, LLC, ceases to be a limited liability company 99
jointly and exclusively owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and 100
the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut in which each tribe holds 101
at least a twenty-five per cent equity interest, any authorization to 102
MMCT Venture, LLC or the casino gaming facility at 171 Bridge Street, 103
East Windsor, Connecticut, authorized pursuant to section 12-578f of 104
the general statutes, to conduct sports wagering or online casino 105
gaming shall be void. 106
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Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) An individual may only 107
place a sports wager on a sporting event or place wagers through an 108
online casino electronic gaming platform if the wagering is authorized 109
pursuant to section 1 of this act and the individual has attained the age 110
of twenty-one and is physically present in the state when placing the 111
wager. 112
(b) Any electronic wagering platform used for conducting online 113
sports wagering or online casino gaming shall be developed to: (1) 114
Verify that an individual with a wagering account is twenty-one years 115
of age or older and is located in the state, and (2) provide a mechanism 116
to prevent the unauthorized use of sports wagering accounts and 117
maintain the security of wagering data, sport bettor's data and other 118
confidential information. 119
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) Not later than twelve months 120
after the date any authorization of sports wagering or online casino 121
gaming becomes effective under section 1 of this act, the 122
Commissioner of Consumer Protection shall adopt regulations, in 123
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to 124
implement the provisions of sections 1 and 2 of this act. Such 125
regulations shall address the operation of, participation in and 126
advertisement of sports betting and online casino gaming, including, 127
but not limited to, provisions to protect the public interest in the 128
integrity of gaming. The commissioner may implement policies and 129
procedures while in the process of adopting such regulations, 130
provided notice of intention to adopt regulations is posted on the 131
eRegulations System not later than twenty days after implementation. 132
Any such policy or procedure shall be valid until the time final 133
regulations are effective. 134
Sec. 4. Subdivision (2) of section 53-278a of the general statutes is 135
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 136
1, 2019): 137
(2) "Gambling" means risking any money, credit, deposit or other 138
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thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance 139
or the operation of a gambling device, including the playing of a casino 140
gambling game such as blackjack, poker, craps, roulette or a slot 141
machine, but does not include: Legal contests of skill, speed, strength 142
or endurance in which awards are made only to entrants or the owners 143
of entries; legal business transactions which are valid under the law of 144
contracts; activity legal under the provisions of sections 7-169 to 7-186, 145
inclusive; any lottery or contest conducted by or under the authority of 146
any state of the United States, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any 147
possession or territory of the United States; and other acts or 148
transactions expressly authorized by law on or after October 1, 1973. 149
Fantasy contests, as defined in section 12-578aa, shall not be 150
considered gambling, provided the conditions set forth in subsection 151
(b) of section 12-578aa have been met and the operator of such contests 152
is registered pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of section 12-153
578aa. Sports wagering, as defined in section 1 of this act, and online 154
casino gaming, as defined in section 1 of this act, shall not be 155
considered gambling if the conditions set forth in section 1 of this act 156
have been met and the sports wagering or online casino gaming is 157
conducted pursuant to sections 2 and 3 of this act; 158
Sec. 5. Subdivision (4) of section 53-278a of the general statutes is 159
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 160
1, 2019): 161
(4) "Gambling device" means any device or mechanism by the 162
operation of which a right to money, credits, deposits or other things 163
of value may be created, as the result of the operation of an element of 164
chance; any device or mechanism which, when operated for a 165
consideration, does not return the same value or thing of value for the 166
same consideration upon each operation thereof; any device, 167
mechanism, furniture or fixture designed primarily for use in 168
connection with professional gambling; and any subassembly or 169
essential part designed or intended for use in connection with any 170
such device, mechanism, furniture, fixture, construction or installation, 171
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provided an immediate and unrecorded right of replay mechanically 172
conferred on players of pinball machines and similar amusement 173
devices shall be presumed to be without value. "Gambling device" 174
does not include a crane game machine or device or a redemption 175
machine. A device or equipment used to play fantasy contests, as 176
defined in section 12-578aa, shall not be considered a gambling device, 177
provided the conditions set forth in subsection (b) of section 12-578aa 178
have been met. A device or equipment used to participate in sports 179
wagering, as defined in section 1 of this act, or online casino gaming, 180
as defined in section 1 of this act, shall not be considered a gambling 181
device if the conditions set forth in sections 1 to 3, inclusive, of this act 182
have been met; 183
Sec. 6. Section 12-806c of the general statutes is repealed and the 184
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 185
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3-6c, the Secretary of 186
the Office of Policy and Management, on behalf of the state of 187
Connecticut, may enter into separate agreements with the 188
Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of 189
Connecticut concerning the operation of keno by the Connecticut 190
Lottery Corporation in the state of Connecticut. Any such agreement 191
shall provide that the state of Connecticut shall distribute to each tribe 192
a sum not to exceed a twelve and one-half per cent share of the gross 193
operating revenue received by the state from the operation of keno. 194
The corporation may not operate keno until such separate agreements 195
are effective. For the purposes of this section, "gross operating 196
revenues" means the total amounts wagered, less amounts paid out as 197
prizes. 198
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3-6c, the secretary, on 199
behalf of the state, may enter amendments to such agreements 200
described in subsection (a) of this section concerning the operation of 201
keno gaming over the Internet by the Connecticut Lottery Corporation 202
in the state of Connecticut. 203
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(c) Any electronic platform or combination of hardware, software 204
and data networks used to manage, administer, offer or control keno 205
gaming over the Internet, including through an Internet web site or a 206
mobile device, shall at a minimum be developed to: (1) Verify that an 207
individual with a keno account is eighteen years of age or older and is 208
located in the state, and (2) provide a mechanism to prevent the 209
unauthorized use of a keno account and maintain the security of data 210
and other confidential information. 211
Sec. 7. Section 12-565a of the general statutes is repealed. (Effective 212
July 1, 2019) 213
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2019 53-278a(2)
Sec. 5 July 1, 2019 53-278a(4)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2019 12-806c
Sec. 7 July 1, 2019 Repealer section
Statement of Purpose:
To authorize sports wagering, Internet gaming and Internet keno
under certain circumstances.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. OSTEN, 19th Dist.; REP. RYAN, 139th Dist.
REP. CONLEY, 40th Dist.; SEN. CASSANO, 4th Dist.
REP. RILEY, 46th Dist.; REP. DE LA CRUZ, 41st Dist.
REP. JOHNSON, 49th Dist.; REP. DUBITSKY, 47th Dist.
REP. FRANCE, 42nd Dist.; REP. CHEESEMAN, 37th Dist.
SEN. FORMICA, 20th Dist.; SEN. SOMERS, 18th Dist.
REP. ROTELLA, 43rd Dist.; REP. SIMMS, 140th Dist.
REP. BUTLER, 72nd Dist.; REP. GENGA, 10th Dist.
REP. NOLAN AN, 39th Dist.
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S.B. 17