The pieces of the online gambling puzzle in Connecticut are falling into place. On Wednesday, the Mohegan Tribe announced the creation of Mohegan Digital with the aim of providing an online casino in CT.
The new company represents an expansion on the tribal gaming enterprise’s iGaming products already live in other jurisdictions. It also could open up more avenues for the proliferation of the product as gambling expansion occurs across the United States.
Details of the Mohegan Digital announcement
According to a press release from Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE), the new division “will lead the charge in providing cutting-edge online gaming solutions.” The release also mentions creating an iGaming platform for its brick-and-mortar casino in CT, Mohegan Sun, as a top priority.
“We’ve consistently seen strong growth in digital gaming across our properties, especially in this past year, and as legal sports betting continues to expand in the U.S., the timing was right for us to launch Mohegan Digital,” said Ray Pineault, President and CEO of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment. “Over the years, Mohegan has made great technological advancements in the digital space, working with industry-leading partners to provide state-of-the-art advancements to casino and sportsbook online operations. With Mohegan Digital, we are looking to expand and enhance these efforts to elevate the experience and deliver on our promise to provide world-class entertainment for our guests on a digital scale.”
The release also announced the appointments of Rich Roberts as president and Aviram Alroy as vice-president of the new division. Alroy had already been on board with MGE for iGaming, among other things running the company’s New Jersey online casino.
This certainly settles the issue of whether MGE will look in-house for online casino in CT. Much is still unknown about what the product will actually look like. If its NJ platform is any indication, it will be competitive.
What the future might hold for CT online gambling
It’s important to note that the NJ Mohegan Sun online casino is tailored to that state’s laws and regulations. While the enabling statute for iGaming in CT is now law, regulations are still pending.
Those regulations could differ from the same in NJ in material ways. For example, regulators in CT will decide whether to allow live dealer games and to what extent.
MGE’s NJ online casino app does offer live dealer games. In addition, it boasts hundreds of slot titles from various studios. Some of them have progressive jackpots. For table games, baccarat, blackjack, numerous poker variants, and roulette are all on the menu.
The creation of the new division means MGE could add its own games created in-house to the platform. It could also mean a greater ability to spread the product into new markets.
As more jurisdictions legalize iGaming, Mohegan Digital could make market access deals there. Having a robust online casino product behooves the chances of that happening. It looks like Connecticuters will be the first to give that product a spin.
