Connecticut sports betting drew closer to becoming legal after House lawmakers passed a gambling bill by a 122-21 vote Thursday night, increasing the odds that Massachusetts will be one of the only New England states to not legalize it for the NFL season.
In Connecticut, sports fans could be placing bets online before the Super Bowl if the state Senate approves. Gov. Ned Lamont already has signaled that he would sign the bill into law, which would update the state’s gaming compact with the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes to permit sports wagering.
Lamont said final adoption “will bring Connecticut’s gaming, lottery and sports-betting market into the future, positioning our state as a leader.”
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed his own sports betting bill in the past, and the House passed one last July as part of its economic development bill, but the Senate didn’t follow through with its own version.
“Obviously, we’ve got to get it right,” Baker said in a radio interview Thursday, “but I have a lot of faith that we’ll figure that part out.”
The lack of sports betting impacts jobs in a number of ways, gambling lobbyists say. Like other Massachusetts casinos, MGM Springfield, which was hit hard by the pandemic, is unable to offer sports betting, which would mean more customers, revenues and jobs, supporters say.
In the meantime, if Connecticut moves quickly, there will be even more incentive for Massachusetts gamblers to drive to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun there.
Sports betting would give those casinos a competitive advantage over MGM at the very time it needs to see business come back, supporters say.
“Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have passed sports betting,” said William Baker, a spokesman for Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. “It would definitely keep the commonwealth up to speed.”
MGM’s casino, dining and entertainment already have contributed $974 million to the Massachusetts economy, Baker said.
“If sports betting were allowed, it would contribute even more, not only to Springfield, but also to the region,” he said. “And the spinoff of that would be to create new jobs and keep customers here, rather than going down to Connecticut.”
Jason Robins, CEO of DraftKings, a Boston tech company that offers mobile sports betting in New Hampshire and a number of other states where it’s legal, was unavailable for comment Friday. But two years ago, he testified before the state Legislature, saying he couldn’t locate more jobs here if Massachusetts didn’t pass sports betting.
