The Connecticut Lottery’s road to a new sports betting partner is underway, as the organization released its request for proposals (RFP) on Monday. The move comes two weeks after the lottery announced that its previous partner, Rush Street Gaming, would be leaving the state in a mutual decision.
The winning proposal will enter into an agreement that will last at least eight years but could extend to up to 13 years.
Through its partnership with the state lottery, Rush Street offered its PlaySugarHouse brand in Connecticut. State law stipulates that the brand partnered with the lottery cannot utilize a brand used by any entity operating a physical casino worldwide.
This rule limits the appeal for operators like Bally’s, BetMGM, Caesars, WynnBet, and others, however, groups like Fanatics, Barstool, bet365, and Betr would be able to use their own brand. What might be more likely though is that a supplier like Kambi or IGT comes in and creates a white-label product for the state.
Other lottery-operated sportsbook have taken the white-label approach, including DC’s partnership with Intralot and Rhode Island’s recently renewed partnership with IGT. Unlike these states though, the Connecticut Lottery operator would be competing with FanDuel and DraftKings and not operating in a monopoly.
Additionally, while the agreement allows for online sports betting, there is no license for online casino games, which are offered by the two competitors.
Given the lack of an online casino opportunity, it appears the RFP is providing information for a potential white-label option, including possible brand names for the venture.
The RFP lists URLs the state owns to give an idea of potential brand names:
- CTLotterySports.com
- CTLotterySportsBet.com
- CTLotterySportsBetting.com
- CTSportsWager.com
- SportsWagerCT.com
- The lottery also has the social accounts connected to the handle @BetCTLottery.
The Connecticut Lottery expects applicants to provide the following:
“The Successful Proposer is expected to provide the complete wagering platform for both the online and retail channels, as well as the PAM, risk management, customer service, KYC/AML, marketing/advertising, player bonusing/promotions, and regulatory reporting for the online channel.”
The winning proposal should also include two years of marketing plans by channel and the ability to continue the lottery’s retail sports betting operations. There will soon be 10 retail betting locations, each of which features self-service terminals.
While the state has not launched any daily fantasy sports operations, the RFP does note there is room to potentially launch DFS through this partnership as well.
Interested applicants have until April 24 to submit written questions. The official deadline for proposals is May 19. The intent would be to launch in the fall of this year.
