Connecticut first full month of sports betting and iGaming brings $4.2M; slot revenue keeps upward trend

As reported by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and the data posted on Thursday, online casino gaming and sports betting generated $4.2 million for the state in November, the first full month the new forms of gambling were available. Of the total revenue, 59% came from the online gaming platforms Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun rolled out in October, which enabled patrons to play virtual versions of casino games including slots, on computers, tablets and handheld vehicles. 

Online sports betting platforms operated by the casinos and by the Connecticut Lottery Corp. combined to generate $1.6 million in payments to the state in November, while the lottery’s nine retail sports betting locations anted up another $112,314.

Foxwoods’ online casino gaming site, operated by DraftKings, handled $416 million in wagers in November and paid out $405.4 million in winnings. The casino was left with gross gaming revenue of $7.9 million. Foxwoods’ online casino gaming payment to the state exceeded $1.4 million.

Mohegan Sun, in partnership with FanDuel, handled $275.2 million in online casino wagers last month, paid patrons $267.4 million in winnings and had gross revenue of $5.9 million, of which it paid the state $1.1 million.

As for online sports betting, Mohegan Sun took in $59 million in wagers and paid patrons $50.8 million in winnings. After paying federal excise tax and promotional expenses, Mohegan Sun’s gross revenue was $6 million. That resulted in a payment to the state of $819,799. 

Moreover, the November slot revenue report showed that Mohegan Sun kept $40.7 million in slot-machine revenue and Foxwoods Resort Casino saw $28.2 million. 

The year-over-year comparison leaves Mohegan Sun with a 42.9% increase ($28.5 million in 2020), and Foxwoods up 29.3% ($21.8 million). Back then, COVID-19 was surging and the start of vaccinations was a month away.

Mohegan Sun’s president and general manager, Jeff Hamilton, spoke Wednesday and said he is pleased with his casino’s November performance but noted slots revenue was down 11% from pre-pandemic numbers in comparison to November 2019, when it kept $45.8 million. “We’re not all the way back, but we’re in a much better place”, he stated. 

Ray Pineault, president and CEO of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, also commented: "We remain exceptionally encouraged by our digital gaming performance. Our results from November show the continued opportunity for growth in this area of our organization."

For October 2021, Mohegan Sun reported a rise in slot-machine revenue of up to 23.6% in a year-over-year comparison, keeping $44.3 million. For Foxwoods Resort Casino, slot-machine revenue was up 21.5%, keeping $31.7 million. 

The casinos introduced on-site sports betting in temporary spaces on September 30 and launched online sports betting and online gaming in October. Hamilton said there has been some indication that the availability of sports betting has led some patrons to extend their stays and table-games play. 

Foxwoods opened a permanent DraftKings sportsbook last month. It held its official grand opening last week with a ribbon-cutting ceremony including former Boston Celtic Kendrick Perkins, who placed the sportsbook’s first bet. Mohegan Sun plans to open its own some time before February’s Super Bowl, according to recent confirmations. 

The first two weeks of sports betting in the state brought in $1.7 million in revenue, as Governor Ned Lamont announced. The numbers amounted up to October 31, limited to less than a month. Online casino gambling brought in $1.2 million and sports betting raised about $513,000.