It has been two years since the Connecticut tribes launched online gaming. However, they are no closer to offering online poker. Also, it is unlikely to change soon.
At the recent Indian Gaming Association Mid-Year Conference, Mashantucket Pequot Chairman Rodney Butler discussed the iGaming gap with the best online poker websites. The conference took place at the tribe’s Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Butler stated that for Connecticut tribes to provide poker online, they must first find out how to form multistate partnerships.
Connecticut Tribes without Online Poker
The problem of insufficient player liquidity has prompted four jurisdictions to form a consortium to pool their online poker players. The Multistate Internet Gambling Agreement includes the states of Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware.
Connecticut legislators did not include interstate compact provisions when they approved internet gambling. And there aren’t enough individuals in Connecticut’s less than 4 million population to support a thriving poker industry. If the Pequot and Mohegan tribes want to start offering internet poker, they must lobby the state government for a change.
The tribes do not value that highly. Butler speculated that the tribes would wish to petition the government for enhanced sports betting and internet casino options at some time. After that, he thought, the issue of online poker would be handled. Without additional revenue streams, internet poker would not be a sufficient reason for tribes to lobby for new regulations.
With Foxwoods’ rich history in the game, it is a shame the Pequot have yet to embrace online poker rooms. In 1995, the first poker room of the casino debuted. During the height of the poker boom, it expanded to become one of the largest poker rooms in the country.
However, given the current landscape of internet poker across the country, it is easy to see why Connecticut’s indigenous communities aren’t giving it any attention. According to poker tutorials and news sites, online poker is neither a priority nor a success in any part of the country. A resurgence in poker’s popularity could be all it takes to get Connecticut’s indigenous peoples interested in it again.
