Mohegan Tribe watching sports-betting lawsuit

Monday, April 6, 2009  

The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut could benefit from a lawsuit that seeks to overturn a federal ban against sports betting.

The lawsuit was filed in New Jersey by a state lawmaker. If successful, it could lead to sports betting at tribal casinos.

“We’d love to have a sports book,” Mohegan Sun CEO Mitchell Etess told The Norwich Bulletin. “I have no doubt sports betting would create a lot of excitement during a lot of times of the year, It would be a terrific driver of people to the property.”

State attorney general Richard Blumenthal disagrees. He believes the tribal-state gaming compact, as well as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, would have to be amended to allow sports betting.

"Sports betting was never a form of permitted gambling” when IGRA became law in 1988, Blumenthal told the paper.

Get the Story:
Lawsuit might pave way for sports bets in Eastern Connecticut casinos (The Norwich Bulletin 4/6)