Lottery Chief Gregg Smith  stated, "As sports betting operator, the lottery will be able to deliver four to five times the revenue per dollar to the state than any other sports betting operation."

(WTNH) - The Connecticut Lottery is making a big push to include sports betting across the state. 

As News 8 has been reporting; sports betting is a top priority for this year's General Assembly session and Governor Lamont is on board with the concept.

One year after a big blunder with a special New Year's super draw game in 2018, which has been attributed to human error, the new president and CEO of the Connecticut Lottery is touting that last budget year, the lottery games made $345 million for the state and gave out about $800 million in prizes.

They plan to roll out lottery vending machines at 200 retail locations in February that will allow players to buy all of the lottery games. In all, there are about 2,900 lottery retailers.

The lottery board of directors met on Thursday and the issue of sports betting was high on the agenda. New lottery chief Gregg Smith said there is one big compelling reason why the lottery should have sports betting.

He stated, "As sports betting operator, the lottery will be able to deliver four to five times the revenue per dollar to the state than any other sports betting operation."

Smith said the 16 Off Track Betting facilities and the two casinos should also offer sports betting, but that the lottery won't take a cut. He added, "We are designed to return all of our proceeds to the state, not a simple percentage or tax on net revenue."

Smith stated that they won't offer sports betting at all 2,900 retailers, just enough to have convenient access to all parts of the state. He added, "We've established already for the lottery a statewide gaming system and we'll be able to scale it and also operate a first class online gaming system."

https://www.wtnh.com/news/politics/lottery-says-they-can-give-state-the-best-deal-on-sports-betting/1708327915