Connecticut Schedule Hearing for Online Poker Bill

Exciting news has reached us at Legal US Poker Sites as a new Connecticut Senate Bill, SB 1464, has been proposed in the Constitution State. If passed, the new bill would allow the provision of online poker as part of a multi-jurisdictional compact for the game, with the possibility for cross-state poker open. We spoke to the state's most successful ever player at the live felt and explored how soon online poker might return.

A History of Greatness in the Constitution State

“I’m very proud of being from Connecticut and in another life definitely saw myself living there.”

For many years, Connecticut has produced poker players of huge repute, and this week’s proposed change to online gaming laws in the state opens up the possibility of more development in the area. From stars such as Soheb Porbandarwala and Stanley Lee to Ryan Eriquezzo and the most successful player in the state, Stephen Song, Connecticut has produced poker legends over many years.

We spoke to Stephen Song to ascertain how Connecticut’s finest feels about the potential return of online poker in the state.

“I grew up in Connecticut - basically my whole childhood from the age of seven,” says Stephen. “I’m very proud of being from Connecticut and in another life definitely saw myself living there.”

Stephen Song is Connecticut's most famous poker son.

Stephen now lives in Las Vegas, which is handy for the many high rollers he plays at the PokerGO Studio on the Vegas Strip. He remains, however, hugely proud to hail from The Constitution State.

“It’s definitely been cool being number one in Connecticut in live tournament earnings. I’ve had school friends and family friends both reach out which is cool and been written up before in the Greenwich Times.”

As we all do with our hometown, Stephen romanticizes his past in the place he grew up in. Connecticut clearly means a lot to the EPT and WSOP champion.

“I definitely miss the pizza more than anything!” he laughs. “Nothing beats Connecticut pizza, especially compared to Vegas. There are definitely some parts of Connecticut I miss but it’s not a viable option for living there at the moment if I want to better my career. That could definitely change if online poker was brought into Connecticut though.”

Online poker returning to Connecticut would be huge for everyone there and Stephen thinks it would be an important step to a return to online poker across all 50 of the United States.

“⁠For the future of poker in America and growing the game the addition of every state would help immensely,” he says. “At the moment the only options for poker in Connecticut are Mohegan and Foxwoods and in both casinos, poker doesn’t seem like a priority. If Connecticut added to the online player pool you could see some growth in the New England area.”

New Bill Proposes Online Poker Return

The proposal for online poker games was put forward by the Joint Committee on General Law in Connecticut this week, with the state having technically legally approved online poker, but the bill, entitled ‘Senate Bill 1464’ would form a de facto framework for online poker sites to welcome players from late 2025. The proposed bill includes provisions for responsible gambling, which includes deposit limits and self-exclusion options.

Perhaps most significantly, Connecticut poker platforms would be permitted to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement and connect with other poker states that have allowed cross-state play, such as New Jersey, Nevada and Michigan, who will jointly compete for WSOP glory online this coming summer.

If approved, the SB 1464 bill would become effective on July 1 of this year, however, it’s unlikely that online poker will go live in the state by that date. The first public hearing regarding the bill began on March 12 this week, and The Constitution State has already ‘legalized’ online poker, way back in May 2021.

So, could Nutmeggers totalling 3.7 million in population soon be back at the online felt? Rep. Tony Scott was the person who introduced Senate Bill 1464 to the Joint General Law Committee last week, saying that it would “empower the governor [of Connecticut] to enter into agreements for the purpose of authorizing online gaming operators to conduct multijurisdictional Internet gaming for peer-to-peer casino games.” The outlook looks extremely positive.

Scott’s proposal seems watertight, with the SB 1464 bill stopping players from having multiple accounts on any licensed Connecticut online poker sites, with one site per player per operator as a distinction, even if that operator has multiple platforms itself.

Could PokerStars Lead Connecticut Return?

It’s happened in the past and it seems likely to happen again – PokerStars could take over the state and plant a flag as the operator in Connecticut. The SB 1464 bill has a provision for operators to run online poker in the state from July 1 in theory, and while foreign jurisdictions wouldn’t be permitted, both of the current state ‘tribes’ have been given the gambling reins to run with.

The Mohegan Tribe, operator of the Mohegan Sun Casino and partnered with FanDuel as well as The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (Foxwoods and DraftKings) have established sportsbetting bases in the state. They have a monopoly on the betting and online casino choices in the state at present.. but neither of those operators have a poker site.

With both FanDuel and PokerStars owned by the parent company Flutter, it would seem that ‘Stars are in the box seat as the operator for online poker in Connecticut. Already the operator in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, cross-state competition would be easy enough to facilitate and lucrative for both players and the operator itself.

It looks like if Connecticut approve online poker, everybody wins.

Paul Seaton, an esteemed figure in the poker community with over ten years of experience, has provided live coverage from renowned poker tournaments like the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and World Poker Tour. His involvement goes beyond observation; he has served as the Editor of BLUFF Europe Magazine and Head of Media for partypoker.