Connecticut Needs Tribal Permission for Keno Gambling

Connecticut's consideration of adding keno to games offered by the lottery may need permission from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos to avoid violating a gambling agreement.

Last week, Governor M. Jodi Rell proposed Connecticut consider allowing gambling on keno to produce an estimated $60 million in revenue. But the state's attorney general says the move may jeopardize over $400 million the state collects through its agreement with the two tribal casinos.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told lawmakers that unclear language in the compact between Connecticut and the Pequot and Mohegan tribes may lead to an interpretation that introducing keno would break an exclusivity clause.

According to Blumenthal, the tribes' agreement to pay 25 percent of slots revenue at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods may be viewed as a violation of a clause that says only the tribes can operate "commercial casino games."

Both Rell and Paul Young, director of the Division of Special Revenue disagree, saying the lottery is exempted, and keno would be run as a lottery game, and operated by the Connecticut Lottery Corporation.

However, warning signs from the tribes indicate the situation needs investigation. A written statement from the Pequots asserted, "We acknowledge that Attorney General Blumenthal has an accurate understanding of the slot agreement."

The Mohegan Tribe's chairman said his people "will more fully consider the proposal after our legal team has had the opportunity to review the final language and the state's definition of this new game."

"I have always intended to make sure we proceed in a way that honors and protects Connecticut's long-standing relationship with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes while establishing a new and much-needed revenue stream for our state," Rell replied.