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Opinion: Connecticut's fortunes tied to future of Indian gaming

As casino gaming goes in the State of Connecticut, so go the State’s finances.

Since the formal opening of Foxwoods in 1992 and Mohegan Sun in 1996, pursuant to a Memoranda of Understanding between the respective native American tribes and the State, the casinos must contribute 25% of the gross operating revenues of the “video facsimile games,” more commonly known as slots. As far back as 2007, Foxwoods Resorts Casino and the Mohegan Sun contributed a collective total of $430 million to the State’s coffers, according to the Connecticut Post.

In the State’s 2014 fiscal year, revenue from tribal slots totaled $279 million, a 35% decline from pre-recessionary levels. Recent slot figures for Foxwoods posted online by The Day show a 5.6% decline in October 2014 from the same period in 2013. Mohegan Sun’s slot decline during the same cycle was lower at .2%. The better performance of Mohegan Sun may be attributable to the variety of its other amenities.

The conundrum facing the industry and the hosting states is a well-publicized decline in preference for gaming as a leisure activity. The irrational response by both the industry and the states is an increase in licensing new casinos in an attempt to augment revenues for both the operators and the states, despite the predicted cannibalization.