Connecticut sports betting law may be changing soon. Surprisingly, it’s not in the direction that other states are going when it comes to placing restrictions on certain college sports betting markets.
Constitution State legislators are seeking to amend the state’s current sports betting law to allow sports bettors physically present in Connecticut to place wagers on in-state college sports teams. This follows the University of Connecticut Huskies’ consecutive National Championships recorded during the men’s 2023 and 2024 March Madness tournaments.
This proposed change would include amendments to allow wagers to be placed on game outcomes for in-state programs like UConn, Yale, and other college sports teams located in Connecticut. Point spread, total, moneyline, and other game prop betting markets would become legal for Connecticut sports bettors to wager, however, college player props markets would still be prohibited on all of the state’s legally regulated online sportsbook operators.
However, such a change to Connecticut sports betting laws is facing opposition.
"Gov. Ned Lamont is one of the UConn Huskies' biggest fans but he agrees with Connecticut's Higher Education leaders that residents here should not be able to bet on UConn games," the governor's spokeswoman, Julia Bergman, said said recently, according to NBC Connecticut.
Banning college player prop markets
NCAA president Charlie Baker has recently ignited a trend for all legal sports betting states to restrict college player props markets at legal online sportsbooks to preserve the integrity of the game, while simultaneously protecting student-athletes from online and physical harassment.
“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes getting harassed," Baker said. "The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”
Ohio, Maryland, and Vermont are three legal sports betting states that have followed suit and subsequently removed college player prop betting markets from all licensed and regulated online sportsbooks in each of their states. New York State Gaming Commission chairman Brian O’Dwyer also supports Baker’s initiative, applauding his efforts to “raise the visibility” of concerns related to college player prop betting. The Empire State has never permitted individual college player props betting markets, such as total three-pointers or a player’s total receptions.
Louisiana is another state that has already opted to ban college player props from its online sportsbooks, which goes into effect on Aug. 1. Per an official bulletin from the Lousiana Gaming Control Board issued on Apr. 1, the Bayou State announced it will be suspending proposition bets on an individual athlete’s performance or statistics participating in a college sporting event.
