A New Solution Proposed in Connecticut Would Add iGaming and Marijuana as Taxable Revenue Streams
Published October 17, 2020 by Lee R
In January, Connecticut will have the opportunity to add sports betting to it's disrupted revenue streams.
In Connecticut, a legislative connection between marijuana and sports betting may launch iGaming as an economic solution.
The Sin Tax
The curious linkage comes in the form of a relief package for the many business and workers in the state feeling the economic impact of COVID-19 called the “sin tax.”
New Revenue
The category is a contemporary solution to the hurdles facing state officials in Connecticut who seek to legalize sports betting and recreational marijuana, with the sin tax according to Senator Paul Formica offering a fresh revenue stream.
The Landscape
Since March, the pandemic has affected many small and large businesses, causing furloughs of thousands of employees, with a substantial amount turning into layoffs.
As a relief solution, Connecticut state officials are looking to sports betting as one of the items eligible for the new sin tax to derive new revenue.
More iGaming to Follow?
The taxation of sports betting as a sin tax opens the door for a substantial amount of sports betting online as well as on land-based to be included in introduction to the Connecticut regulation purview.
Marijuana Expands the Field
It just so happens that legal marijuana also falls into the sin tax category, as another way that Connecticut can derive newly taxable income.
Connecticut and Sports Betting
Since the well-know PASPA repeal opening the door for legal sports betting in any state that voted it in, and which ushered in rapid sports betting models in states such as New Jersey and Colorado, Connecticut is considered on the other end of that progressive spectrum.
New Urgency
However, an increasing budget deficit approaching $2.1 billion by the end of the fiscal covid year 2020 has rekindled talks to legalize sports betting and recreational marijuana have been reignited.
Formica's Role
As a member of the General Assembly's Appropriations Committee, Senator Formica has become a major proponent of the need to find added revenue, and has pegged the first 2021 legislative session on January 19th as the launch of the sin tax discussion.
Outlook
In the current economic conditions, even January seems a long way off to start discussing economic relief. By that time, any sin taxes on the table will likely be signed into law promptly.
