For
the past 30 years, anyone who wanted to gamble had to drive hours to the
casinos. Now, the casino is coming to you.
Online
gambling is now fully operational in Connecticut for anyone age 21 and older.
Christie
St. Martin, the vice president of digital marketing at Mohegan Sun, helped
launch online gaming for the casino. They are using two apps, FanDuel for
sports betting and their own app for casino games.
"We're
the only dedicated online casino app,” she said, noting that those who
want to place sports bets can easily follow a link to FanDuel.
Foxwoods
is offering an all-in-one experience on the DraftKings app.
The
Connecticut Lottery is also offering sports betting only through the
"Sugar House Connecticut" app.
All
four apps are offering big incentives to lure new players, including risk-free
bets. But betting is risky, so each app also warns you how long you've been
playing.
"There
are a number of safeguards that are set up. You can only have one funding
source at a time," says Rob Simmelkjaer, the State Lottery Board chair.
"We can check in with them on a regular basis if we get the sense that
they may be getting themselves into trouble."
All
four of these apps ran a "soft launch" last week.
If you
want to bet in person, players for now still must drive to the
casinos. But in the next few weeks, it will be offered at Winners and
almost a dozen other locations.