Connecticut Lottery On The Hunt For New Sports Betting Partner

After parting ways with its previous partner, Rush Street Interactive, the Connecticut Lottery Corporation (CLC) has opened requests for proposals (RFP) for a new sports gambling partner in Connecticut.

“The Connecticut Lottery Corporation (CLC) is soliciting competitive Proposals from qualified, experienced, and innovative Proposers for a Sports Betting and Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) Solution and related services and products,” stated the lottery’s website notes.

The RFP period opened this week and will end at 3 p.m. EST on May 19.

What is the Connecticut Lottery looking for in a sports betting partner?

The CLC is one of three sports betting license holders in the state. FanDuel and DraftKings are the other two.

As a license holder, the CLC can offer sports betting throughout the state, not including reservation land belonging to two federally recognized tribes in the state.

Additionally, the CLC can run up to 15 retail sportsbooks as long as they are at le
ast 25 miles away from tribal land.

The CLC runs nine retail sportsbooks in the state. Each of those locations has eight to 20 betting kiosks. A 10th retail location at Hartford’s XL Center arena is under construction and will likely open before the end of the year.

Though the CLC has a strong sports betting presence in the state, it wants its new partner to help it expand.

Per the CLC’s RFP documents, it wants to convert its sports betting system to the new operator’s system, and it wants to add daily fantasy sports (DFS) to its online sportsbook platform.

The CLC wants the partner’s new system to accommodate the following functions:

• Online and retail sportsbooks
• Player account management
• Bonus and promotion development
• Risk management
• Customer service
• Marketing and advertising
• Regulatory reporting

While there are plenty of companies that can offer these services, Connecticut law limits the operator pool. Only brands that aren’t used by a company that operates a physical casino anywhere in the world can apply.

That restriction means bigger names like BetMGM and Caesars are out, but it opens the door for sportsbook-specific companies like Barstool, Betr, and Fanatics.

The CLC noted that its new Connecticut sports betting partner has the option of using the following URLs and social media handles that the CLC secured:

• Ctlotterysports.com
• Ctlotterysportsbet.com
• Ctlotterysportsbetting.com
• Ctsportswagers.com
• Sportswagersct.com
• @betctlottery

What the Connecticut Lottery sports betting partner timeline looks like

There are seven main stages to the CLC’s search for a new sports betting partner.

First, the CLC may conduct question-and-answer sessions with potential operators from this coming Monday to Friday. Next, operators must submit questions about the partnership by 2 p.m. EST on April 24.

From there, the CLC has until May 1 to respond to those questions. Proposals are due on May 19.

The CLC has reserved the right to ask follow-up questions, conduct interviews with, and view demos from RFP applicants. If all goes well, the CLC will reveal which applicant it chose on June 14. The new system the winning partner builds is slated to go live in the fall.

The CLC noted that the contract with its new partner will last eight years, with an option to extend the partnership another five years.