Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation makes first entry into online gaming

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Artist's rendering of a new casino to be jointly owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe in East Windsor, Connecticut. Image: CT Jobs Matter

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation has joined the online gaming industry with a unique partnership.

Gamblers in Europe and in other locations around the world can place bets on a roulette wheel at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. The game went live as part of the Authentic Gaming network on Monday.

“It’s a great new way for us to proliferate our brand internationally,” Seth Young, the executive director of online gaming at the casino, told The New London Day.

Online gaming, though, is not yet permitted under the tribe's arrangement with the state. So Foxwoods won't be seeing any revenue from the international bets, The Day reported.

But in hopes of boosting its bottom line as competition grows in New England, Foxwoods is seeking to extend the hours it can offer alcohol, The Day reported earlier this month. A commercial casino that's about to open in neighboring Massachusetts just received permission to serve drinks on the gaming floor until 4am.

“We have to stay competitive,” Lori Potter, the tribe's director of communications, told the paper. “If other states are going to have more relaxed laws to serve alcohol later, we’re going to have to do the same.”

The Mohegan Tribe is also considering longer hours, an official told The Day. And the tribes might do the same at their forthcoming jointly-operated casino in Connecticut.

The tribes plan to break ground on their project in the fall. Their site in the city of East Windsor is less than 15 miles from the MGM casino opening across the border in Massachusetts on August 24.

The tribes had hoped to debut their casino around the same time. But the Trump administration failed to action on their gaming agreements, preventing them from moving forward.

The tribes now expect to open in the spring of 2020.

Read More on the Story:
Foxwoods goes live with online roulette (The New London Day June 27, 2018)
Foxwoods Launches International Live Table Gaming Platform (Ledyard Patch June 26, 2018)
Lawmakers Open To Extending 'Last Call' at Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun (The Hartford Courant June 28, 2018)
Foxwoods to Request Extending Alcohol Service to 4 a.m. (NBC Connecticut June 28, 2018)
Foxwoods wants later 'last call' to keep up with Mass. casino (The New London Day June 22, 2018)

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