The Week In Sports Betting: Michigan Moves, CT Laying Groundwork?

It’s information overload everywhere, and there’s not time enough to sleep and eat and stay fully apprised of what’s happening on this crazy blue dot of ours (two out of three ain’t bad).

Here’s the weekend Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top stories and rounding up key stories in sports betting, gaming, and the world of sports at large. You may have missed them, and they are worth reading.

CT governor ready to talk sports betting with tribes

Connecticut Governor Ned LaMont appears to be trying to set the stage — yet again — for the legalization of sports betting, according to a story in the Hartford Courant. The issue has run into multiple roadblocks in Connecticut, the key one being working out a deal with the state’s two tribes, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan, each of which runs its own large casino.

“I had a good meeting with the [tribal] leaders, and I think we’re moving towards places where we can reach agreement,,” Lamont told reporters Wednesday. “Look, the rest of the country and all our neighboring states are working hard on sports betting, iLottery and some of the other things that we need to do to make us competitive in this growing economy. I want to do that in association with the tribes. … We’re doing that in collaboration and doing it in a way that mitigates the risk of a lawsuit.”

Connecticut’s legislature has discussed sports betting at length in its previous two sessions in 2018 and 2019, but has yet to clear the hurdle in deciding tribal-state gaming issues, plus there’s been battle over plans for a new commercial casino. The only two New England states with legal sports betting are Rhode Island, which went live in late 2018, and New Hampshire, which has yet to launch.