Table of Contents
Connecticut Online Gambling in 2024
-
Shawn West
- June 29, 2024
Connecticut has a long history of pushing the envelope when it comes to gambling laws. They started legalizing gambling in the state in the 1930s and, by the 1970s, allowed betting on horse racing, dog racing, and jai alai. Connecticut was one of the first states to embrace tribal casinos and one of the first to legalize online wagering. The state passed its first online gambling law in 2017 and by 2021, gamblers in Connecticut could participate in online sports betting.
However, if gamblers in the state want the full casino experience online, with sports betting, racebooks, and online casino games, including slots and live dealer table games, their only option is an offshore gambling site, where the state law does not regulate what can be offered. These Connecticut online betting sites have allowed residents of the state to win real money for years.
Best Sportsbooks in Connecticut for 2024
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
1996
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
$500 Cash Bonus
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
2001
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
20% Cash Bonus
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
2002
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
30% Cash Bonus
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
2001
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
$250 Free Bet
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
1996
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
100% Cash Bonus
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
2011
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
$750 Cash Bonus
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
Table of Contents
Our Highest-Rated Connecticut Online Gambling Sites
Our team of experts looked at dozens of offshore gambling sites to find the best online options for residents of Connecticut. Here are their choices for the 10 best.
- BookMaker – The best all-around online gambling site in Connecticut
- Heritage Sports – The top site for live betting on sports
- Bovada – More betting options than any other Connecticut site
- BetOnline – Offers opinionated lines and quick payouts
- BetAnySports – Gives CT gamblers more value than any other online book
- JustBet – Caters to all types of bettors
- BetUS – Pays the highest bonuses in the state
- WagerWeb – Bitcoin users get same-day payouts
- Everygame – Worldwide menu of sporting events is the most extensive in CT
- SportsBetting.ag – High betting limits and outstanding bonuses
Is online gambling legal in Connecticut?
Whether it’s off-track betting, tribal casinos, or online gambling laws, Connecticut has traditionally been one of the states at the forefront of loosening gambling restrictions. Gamblers have been able to bet at OTB parlors on not just horse racing but also greyhounds and jai alai since the 1970s, and the state was one of the first areas in the U.S., other than Vegas and Atlantic City, to offer retail betting at casinos on Native American land.
More recently, Connecticut has embraced online gambling, making it legal to bet on sports at licensed sites since 2021. Gamblers can also bet on horses at online gambling sites, however, the state has not licensed any sites that permit gambling on casino games, slots, or hands of poker. For those options, bettors in Connecticut would need to use an offshore gambling site, which does not fall under the jurisdiction of state law.
Reviewing the Best Connecticut Betting Sites
Our team of gambling experts evaluated each online gambling site on a number of important factors. Only you know which of those factors mean the most to your own personal gambling experience. So, to help you find the site that is the best match for you, our panel offers in-depth evaluations of each site, complete with pro and con lists.
1. The All-Around Best Gambling Site in Connecticut: BookMaker
Key Features
- All bettors are welcomed, regardless of experience level and bankroll size
- Highest betting limits in CT, with low minimum bets
Our experts chose Bookmaker.eu as the top overall online gambling site available to Connecticut residents. The site does an excellent job of making all levels of gamblers feel welcome, regardless of their experience level, bankroll size, or willingness to take a risk.
BookMaker offers the highest betting limits in the state, but minimum bets go as low as a dollar, so every gambler will find room for whatever size bet feels best for them. The site also has one of the top loyalty programs, and all customers are automatically enrolled at the gold level, and showered with a deposit bonus. Cash rewards come with no rollover requirements.
The site has one of the top online sportsbooks, with lines and odds released earlier than any other site. It also has a massive casino with online slots and table games. There’s also a free casino so new users can practice before playing for money.
2. The Top Site for Live Betting on Sports: Heritage Sports
Key Features
- Connecticut’s best VIP service for all bettors
- Cashback rebate program returns 4% to 8%
Heritage Sports finished second in our ranking of top offshore sites for gambling. Our experts were particularly impressed with two important areas where Heritage Sports excelled.
They have the best VIP treatment of their customers, dating back to the early days of Heritage Sports when it was invitation-only and catered to the elite gamblers. It’s now open to everyone, but Heritage Sports still uses many of its old tricks to make customers feel special. That includes generous promotions, including a cash rebate that ranges from 4% to 8% depending on a bettor’s gambling volume. They also have a loyalty reward that gives customers their eighth deposit free, and customers get free bets and parlays for their birthdays. Heritage Sports also has top-notch customer service.
Our experts also declared that Heritage Sports has the best live betting interface in Connecticut. This is a fast-growing area of the gambling industry, and Heritage Sports’ user interface is fast and efficient, allowing customers to get their best placed quickly, which is essential when betting on games in progress.
Heritage Sports also offers a racebook and online casino gaming with all your favorite games and slots.
3. More Betting Options Than Any Other CT Site: Bovada
Key Features
- Offers more prop and futures betting options than any other sportsbook
- Large online casino with wide array of games
Bovada places near the top of our rankings and is able to provide more variety to Connecticut bettors than any other site. The full online casino experience is available at the site. They offer online sports betting at one of the top sportsbooks available. Bovada is also the toast of online poker sites with the busiest poker room in the U.S.. It also has an online casino with video slot games, traditional online slots and table games as well as a live dealer area.
Each of those areas also makes sure to shower customers with a huge selection of betting options. The sportsbook has more futures and prop bet options than any other site, and sports bettors can bet on everything from the major team sports and top college teams in the U.S. to international biathlon. The casino also has a huge library of online games and there are generous Bovada promo codes to help you maximize your money when trying them out.
Bovada also offers a variety of ways to use the site, with what our experts decided was the top mobile betting site available in Connecticut.
4. Offers Opinionated Lines and Fast Payouts: BetOnline
Key Features
- History of fast, easy payouts
- Deposit match bonus worth 50% of initial deposit
One of the biggest concerns gamblers have about offshore sites is that, whether it’s a deposit, bonus, or winnings, they will never be able to withdraw their money. There have been some sites that throw hurdles up to prevent people from actually seeing their cash, but the sites in our top 10 all pride themselves on allowing customers to have access to their money. And BetOnline earns a spot in the top five in part because of its fast, pain-free payouts. There are no hoops to jump through or excessive fees or delays. The entire process is easy and you get your payout in full.
BetOnline also earned its spot based on the gambling experience it offers. It’s one of the few sportsbooks in the state to offer opinionated lines. Their poker room is one of the busiest in America, and the online casinos and promo codes at BetOnline are also world-class.
5. Gives CT Bettors More Value Than Any Other Site: BetAnySports
Key Features
- Cuts house edge to give gamblers value with the top reduced juice
- Lines and odds are gambler-friendly across site
BetAnySports rounds out our top five, and the A+ rated site was singled out by our expert panel for offering more value to gamblers than any other offshore site. They cut costs to bettors by lowering their house edge, so, as long as you’re willing to give up a few frills and perks, this might be the top choice for cost-conscious gamblers.
One of the primary ways that BetAnySports gives gamblers an edge is with the most generous reduced juice in the state. The industry standard is to set 50/50 odds—such as odds on either side of a point spread or over/under total—at -110/-110, meaning gamblers must risk $110 for the chance to win $100. That extra $10 is the house edge and helps assure the book a profit. BetAnySports’ reduced juice cuts those odds to -105/-105, so the house edge is sliced in half. That makes it easier for bettors to stay in the black.
The site also has lines and odds that are gambler-friendly throughout the sportsbook and casino. BetAnySports also offers several different video and live casinos all in one convenient place, as well as a pair of live betting environments.
Our Rating Methodology
Choosing the best from a large pool of online sportsbooks was a big job, and our panel of experts took it seriously, evaluating each site on a number of factors. They looked at the betting markets offered by each site, the quality and diversity of bonuses and promotions available, the customer service department, the odds and lines offered, and even customer reviews of each site.
Connecticut’s History of Gambling Laws
Connecticut has long been one of the more gambling-friendly states in the U.S. If the country takes another step toward gambling legalization, you can count on Connecticut being on the leading edge of the movement. They were among the first states to have off-track betting, offering it on horse races, dog races, and jai alai in the 1970s. In the 1980s, they began the move toward retail casinos on tribal land, working with native American tribes to build the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos, which are still two of the leading tribal casinos in the country.
Most recently, Connecticut has led the way in online sports betting, legalizing it with a 2017 law and starting it across the state in 2021. Native American tribes have gotten on board and installed retail sportsbooks at the two gambling facilities on their land. Three online books also received a sports betting license from the state.
Important Features of the Best Online Gambling Sites
The top 10 offshore sites in Connecticut differ in a number of different areas, as our in-depth reviews showed. But there are certain factors that our experts felt were crucial for a top-rated site to have. Here are some of the must-haves for the leading online gambling sites.
Competitive Gambling Odds
Bettors should get a fair shake. Odds should be similar to competing sites and should reflect the expected probability of the bet succeeding.
Wide Range of Betting Markets Available
The top sites offer a number of different gambling activities. A sports betting market, a racebook, and an online casino with video slots and table games are among the forms of gambling that should be featured. Many sites also offer live poker rooms and live dealer casinos.
Banking Methods
Sites should offer a number of different ways to conduct financial business. Traditional banking methods like debit cards, credit cards, including American Express, and bank wire transfers, should be available with fees and delays kept to a minimum. Newer methods like crypto and e-wallets should also be available.
Promos & Bonuses
Sites should offer you incentives to sign up and to keep loyally betting with them. There is plenty of fish in the sea, so customers should be able to get welcome bonus money with a flexible set of offers differing by promo code. Ongoing promotions should offer cashback rebates, reload bonuses, risk-free bets and more. One thing to be aware of is that most offshore platforms offer the biggest bonuses for players who bet with Bitcoin.
Live Dealers & Live Betting Available
Live betting on in-progress games is a recent trend in online gambling, and sites should make it fast and easy to engage in that activity. Casinos should also have live dealer sections, which connect users to a human dealer via video, to provide a more realistic casino experience and add a social aspect to gameplay.
User Interface
The user interface should be smooth and responsive, with no glitches or crashes. Pages should load quickly, and they should add to the overall online gaming experience.
Mobile Site Quality
More bets are placed by phone and tablet than by computer, so the mobile sports betting interface should be just as functional and attractive as the main site. It should be well-organized and easy to navigate. Many sites offer a mobile sports betting app and some have separate mobile apps for sports betting and the casino. If a site doesn’t offer an app, the mobile interface should be fully optimized.
Customer Support
Customer service should be available, ideally 24/7, with low wait times. Customers should be able to get help by phone, email, or live chat.
Security Features
When betting real money, customers need to be able to count on their chosen gambling site to protect their information. If any sites had any security issues, our experts removed them from consideration.
Land-Based Casinos in Connecticut
Connecticut led the way with tribal casinos, creating two of the first native American casinos, both of which are still among the biggest and most successful retail locations on tribal land. Two native American tribes built casinos in the state in the early 1990s, and those casinos now offer a variety of table games, as well as video poker and sportsbooks.
Foxwoods Resort Casino
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe was the first to bring tribal gaming to Connecticut, opening a high-stakes bingo parlor in 1986. Six years later, they added table games and rebranded the land-based casino as Foxwoods. Slots were added a year later, followed by a poker room. A resort hotel was added in 1997, and now there are a total of six casinos covering 9 million square feet in Ledyard.
Mohegan Sun Casino
The Mohegan tribe opened Mohegan Sun in 1996. It now covers 240 acres in Uncasville, including 364,000 square feet of gambling space.
It is home to a 12,000-seat arena where a WNBA team plays home games, and it is the second-largest casino in the United States. It also features the biggest ballroom in the northeast and a radio station and a shopping mall.
Online Gambling Options Available in CT
There are a number of different online betting options available in Connecticut. Gamblers can bet on sports, horse races, or play a variety of games from casino table games to slots to lottery-style games.
Sports Betting
Online sportsbooks are legal in Connecticut and licensed by the state. In addition, there are offshore sportsbooks that feature online sports wagering. Bettors can bet on professional teams in the major sports leagues as well as collegiate teams. Online sports betting also extends to sports as obscure as jai alai and biathlon.
Horse Race Betting
Horse racing is a popular betting activity. In addition to the major fixed odds races like the Triple Crown and Breeders Cup, Connecticut residents can participate in a number of pari-mutuel betting pools for races at tracks located around the world.
Casino Games
Most offshore sites have online casino games, ranging from online slots to video poker to table games. Many sites also offer live dealer sections, in addition to the video versions of those games.
CT Lottery-Style Games
There are a number of lottery-style games available in the state. The Connecticut lottery offers scratch-off lottery tickets as well as multi-state drawings like Mega Millions and Powerball. There are also online lottery games and similar games like Bingo and Keno.
Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS)
While daily fantasy sports aren’t considered gambling, since they are categorized as games of skill, many fantasy sports sites also offer sportsbook apps. In fact, two of the three sportsbooks licensed by the state got their start in DFS—DraftKings sportsbook and FanDuel sportsbook.
Creating an Online Gambling Account in CT
Creating an account at one of the online gambling sites in our rankings is fast and easy. Here’s a walk-through of the process.
Step 1. Sign-Up
Choose one of the top-rated gambling sites from our top 10 and click on the button on their site to create a new account.
Step 2. Verify Your Details
Fill out a registration form with your personal details. You may have to respond to a code sent to your phone to verify your identity.
Step 3. Deposit Funds
Choose a deposit method from the ones listed on the site’s cashier page and enter your information. Be sure to include any required promo code so you can receive your welcome bonus money.
Step 4. Enjoy Gambling Online
That’s it. Pick a gambling market and put your money down. Good luck!
FAQs – Online Gambling in Connecticut
Can I gamble online in Connecticut?
You can gamble online in Connecticut. The state has licensed sites to provide sports betting and horse race betting. However, offshore sites, like the ones in our rankings, allow you to also play casino games online as well as poker, putting all your gambling needs in one place.
Can you place mobile bets in Connecticut?
You can place mobile bets. Most gambling sites offer mobile sportsbooks and casinos and some even have casino and sportsbook apps. State-licensed sites will let you place sports and horse race bets, but offshore mobile sites also offer casino gaming and online poker.
What gambling sites are legal in CT?
The state licensed three sportsbooks: FanDuel, DraftKings and SugarHouse Sportsbook. However, online casino players will need to use an offshore sportsbook like the ones in our rankings. These offshore sites are not bound by U.S. gaming laws so they can offer real-money casino gambling with no issues.
What online casinos are in Connecticut?
There are no local online gambling operators in the state like FanDuel Casino; however, offshore sites allow Connecticut residents to play online casino games, bet on their favorite teams and more.
Does Connecticut tax gambling income?
Connecticut withholds a 6.99% state income tax on all gambling winnings at state-licensed providers if they are either subject to federal withholding tax (more than $5,000) or reportable for federal tax purposes ($600 and 300 times the amount of the wager).
