Connecticut gamblers lost some $600M to online casinos

 Years ago, I belonged to a group that tried to convince state lawmakers to reject online gambling. We got nowhere. We warned that online gaming would increase harm and produce no economic value. The data is showing what's happening. 

Connecticut’s online casinos collected roughly $665 million after paying out winnings and making allowed deductions from October 2025 through September 2026. That gives a rough indication of players’ losses. The state received nearly $120 million of that money, which is what the chart shows. The state's cut is 18%.

 
What does that mean for Enfield?

 
Based on the problem gambling rate (state figure) of 1.8% -- and problem gamblers are the biggest source of gambling revenue --- approximately 600 adults in Enfield are problem gamblers. This means they have difficulty controlling their gambling, and may be in serious financial trouble.

 
There is another category called "at risk" -- as many as 1,600 people may be in this category. These are people who may be gambling at high levels. To be clear, these are based on statewide levels and not a count of Enfield residents.

 
This is a lot of money. It doesn’t generate economic growth, and it harms people. It isn’t an election issue. It’s barely a policy issue. Lawmakers approved it for the tax revenue, knowing full well that people will lose astonishing sums of money on their cell phones.

 
Only seven states, including ours, have online casino gambling: Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. Maine has approved it but hasn’t launched it.

What would it take for the state to reverse course? That's probably impossible. The state is addicted to this money. The state increased its cut to 20% starting this month.

Source: https://portal.ct.gov/dcp/gaming-division/gaming/gaming-revenue-and-statistics?archived=true&language=en_US