Foxwoods Casino announced that it is partnering with the nation's second biggest online betting site, Draft Kings - which could possibly bring Connecticut closer to legal sports wagering.

For now, people still can't pull out their phones and bet on sports - at least not in the state. But now, Foxwoods Casino just raised the stakes.

Foxwoods' tribal chair says the deal has been in the works for years.

The only problem? Sports betting isn't even legal in Connecticut.

"It's really priming that, and it just makes us ready to launch once we have the legislation done," says Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Chair Rodney Butler.

At the State Capitol, sports betting legislation has been stalled for years over whether the casinos have exclusive rights to offer it.

Gov. Ned Lamont says he's hoping to avoid a lawsuit.

"Obviously I'd like to avoid a lawsuit, that doesn't help anybody. But I also want to get this thing moving," he says.

"We're going to all get in a room. We're all going to have conversation. We're all going to come to an agreement and we're all going to come to the legislature," says Lamont's Chief of Staff Paul Mounds.

If Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun sue, it could jeopardize $200 million a year in slot payments.

"In basketball parlance, it would be a slam dunk win for the state," says sports gaming attorney Daniel Wallach.

He says at this table, the state has a stronger hand than the casinos.

"Sports betting hinges on athletic events that take place external to a casino environment, where casino games are played exclusively within a casino environment," says Wallach.

At this point, a compromise seems pretty unlikely - meaning if Connecticut moves forward with sports betting, someone is going to sue.

As for Mohegan Sun, it says it's "committed to bring the same level of high quality sports wagering products to Connecticut... when the state legislature and governor allow sports betting."