The expansion of off-track betting sites was voted by the state House of Representatives for an East Windsor Casino on Wednesday morning.
The house granted final legislative approval that the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes can build a satellite casino that would be visible from Interstate 91, north of Hartford.
Of the two-bill gambling package, the casino vote was the first, which also called for an expansion of off-track betting sites and possible sports betting in the future.
In order to establish a $300 million East Windsor Casino on non-tribal land, some legislators pushed hard for licensing fees (which is not included in the bill), they were eventually dropped from the package.
It came as a surprise to see the historic vote numbers for Democratic leaders, who initially did not have enough support to approve the East Windsor Casino that had been passed by the Senate.
This measure was taken to expand the number of off-betting sites to 24 from 18. In case, in the event of legalisation by the federal government, it can also instruct the state’s consumer protection department to begin establishing a regulatory structure for potential sports betting.
