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NEWS MARCH 22, 2021 ¦ 9

Lawyers Weigh In on Potential Litigation From
Connecticut’s Tentative Gaming Agreement

By Robert Storace

O Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont in June 2020. Photo: Michael Marciano/ALM
n the heels of a tentative agreement between the state. The Connecticut Lottery Corp, will oper-
Connecticut and one of the state’s two casinos ate the 15 retail locations.
over sports betting and the future of gam- A tentative agreement with the owners of Fox-
bling, attorneys who specialize in gaming are asking woods Casino is pending.
one question: Will the casinos be immune to law- As it stands now, there doesn’t appear to be lan-
suits that occur off Native American land? guage in the tentative agreement related to liability
“In the final analysis, if you can’t sue in state court, and lawsuits, Strafaci and gaming attorney James
then I think it means we need a new governor,” said Harrington said. That, though, could change.
gaming attorney John Strafaci of the Law Offices of Both the Mohegan Tribe, which owns Mohegan
M. John Strafaci in New London, who says the gov- Sun, and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation,
ernor should insist on a clause in the final agreement which owns Foxwoods Casino, have strict liability
that would allow citizens to sue the tribes. rules with regard to what happens on their land.
On March 2, Gov. Ned Lamont outlined some If an individual is hurt on casino land, he or she
parts of a tentative gaming agreement between the can only sue in one of the two tribal courts, and
Mohegan Tribe and the state, which includes the there are limits. While state courts have no limits of
Connecticut Lottery Corp., and involves online what a plaintiff can collect, in tribal courts there is
sports betting on sites off casino land throughout
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