Connecticut May Be Latest to Join Multi-State Poker Agreement

A recent legislative measure in Connecticut’s state senate would allow online poker sites to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, connecting Nutmeg State poker players to other states and offering larger tournament prizes.

New Deck

Connecticut poker players could be getting a whole new deck of cards if SB01464 is signed into law. The bill was introduced to the Senate’s Joint Committee on General Law earlier this week and would allow Connecticut to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) for online poker, which could kickstart the dormant online poker scene in Connecticut.

What the Bill Entails

If passed, the bill would allow the governor to “authorize online gaming operators to conduct multijurisdictional Internet gaming for peer-to-peer casino games.”

Currently, DraftKings and FanDuel hold online poker licenses, but neither has launched. However, aligning with the MSIGA could drastically alter the digital poker landscape in the Nutmeg State, as the higher combined pots with the other six states, including Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, and West Virginia, would generate greater interest.

SB01464 categorizes online poker as a “peer-to-peer casino game,” which is stipulated as a “card game, contest, or tournament, including, but not limited to, a poker game, contest, or tournament.” It permits users to “compete against one another and do not compete against the licensee operating such game,” and the licensee operating those games “assesses any fee associated with such game.”

The bill also establishes maximum amounts associated with sports betting. In the “Statement of Purpose” section, the last two points address this by stating, (C) disclose the maximum sports wagers established for online sports wagering; and (3) require the Commissioner of Consumer Protection to adopt regulations establishing maximum sports wagers for online sports wagering.

Interestingly enough, the maximum wager is not defined in the bill but will likely be specified should it gain traction in the legislature and become law.

Consumer Protection and Safeguards

Consumer protection and safeguards are also proposed in the measure, as the creation of a toll-free number is mandated to help users “receive assistance from the licensee to resolve any problem the person is experiencing,” whether it be the platform or issues associated with the account.

Moreover, licensees who become aware of “any error in the odds offered” are required to halt any gambling on that specific event until the problem has been corrected and to “provide a full refund to each patron who placed any such wagers … prior to such discovery.”

It’s Electric

Should SB01464 be successful, DraftKings would likely be the first to launch, as the Boston-based gaming company has already begun testing its Electric Poker product in Connecticut and has rolled it out in Michigan.

Product testing of Electric Poker in Connecticut has been underway for a while, and it was initially handed to the gaming division of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (CDCP) in the spring of 2023; however, DraftKings asked that the process be paused while it worked out technical glitches.

But now, Electric Poker is back in the hands of the CDCP after DraftKings’ product remediation.

Kaitlyn Krasselt, communications director for the CDCP, said DraftKings had “resubmitted Electric Poker to the CDCP for review in early August of this year.” She explained that the agency “has begun internal testing of the product.”

Krasselt added that a “soft launch of Electric Poker, if approved, would limit the number of simultaneous players so that the CDCP can assess electronic wagering platform performance, regulatory, and financial reporting requirements prior to permitting a full-scale launch.”