A seven-day soft launch of online sports betting and gaming in Connecticut is starting today.
The Department of Consumer Protection said Friday that the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribe could begin a soft launch Tuesday for online wagering programs. Once the soft launch is complete, online gaming can open statewide.
There will be some restrictions during the soft launch period and the Connecticut Lottery Corporation has different parameters than the tribes do.
They will offer online sports wagering within the state only, limited to 750 people through the online platform. Customers will only be allowed to make bets during certain times of the day during this soft launch -- 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, noon to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, then running on a 24-hour cycle through the rest of the soft launch period.
During the soft launch, of the Connecticut Lottery and Rush Street Interactive’s PlaySugarHouse online sportsbook, up to 750 customers across the state can register and place bets beginning today at www.PlaySugarHouse.com.
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According to the regulations, once the 750-player limit is reached, customers who pre-register at www.PlaySugarHouse.com will be added to a waiting list and notified as soon as the full launch is authorized, according to Connecticut Lottery.
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The tribes will be allowed to launch online sports betting within the state, online casino gaming, limited to the games approved by DCP for the soft launch.
This does include more than 100 games, according to DCP. The soft launch will not include live dealer or peer-to-peer online casino games, and will be limited to wagering by 750 customers. They will follow the same hour limitations as the CT Lottery.
FanDuel, DraftKings and Rush Street Interactive, which have contracted with the tribes and CT Lottery, are allowed to start establishing customer accounts for the 750 individuals who will take part in the soft launch.
The rollout of statewide retail and online sports betting was originally planned for Thursday, Oct. 7, but state officials announced Wednesday that there would be a delay.
Sports betting has already begun at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun last week. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is working with Draft Kings while the Mohegan Tribal Nation chose FanDuel to operate its sports betting.
