Connecticut House passes online gambling reform bill limiting ads
The House has passed a bill that puts some new rules in place for online gambling in Connecticut. House Bill 5269 focuses on how people can fund their gambling accounts and how gaming companies can advertise their services.
HB 5269 cleared the Connecticut House with a 100-46 vote, passing just hours before the legislative session wrapped up on Wednesday (June 4). The bill, which came from the House General Law Committee, was first introduced back in January and then sent to the Joint Committee on General Law for review.
After that, it made its way to the Committee on Finance, Revenue, and Bonding. The House eventually adopted it with a series of amendments and passed it unanimously.
NEW: Connecticut General Law Committee approves bills: (1) allowing the Governor to enter into multijurisdictional Internet poker compacts (SB 1464); and (2) prohibiting the offering of financial incentives in order to induce individuals to engage in gaming (HB 5269). 21-0 vote. pic.twitter.com/ZIvw4NpRMX
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) March 25, 2025
What is the Connecticut bill on gambling?Under this bill, users wouldn’t be able to use credit cards to add money to their online gambling account anymore. It also cracks down on ads that try to lure people in with financial incentives, like offering bonuses just for signing up or placing bets. On top of that, when using a joint credit or debit card, the other person on the account would need to give permission before any charges could go through.
In an effort to reduce the risks associated with credit-based gambling, the bill also requires operators to “place a monetary limit on the use of a credit card over a period of time.”
Users will be given more control over their gambling activity. They are allowed to “limit the amount of money that may be deposited into an account, and spent per day through an account.”
To promote responsible gambling, the bill also calls on gambling platforms to “establish a voluntary self-exclusion process” allowing individuals to opt out of account creation, wagering, or to set spending limits. The platforms must also “provide responsible gambling and problem gambling information to participants,” and include clear user tools such as time-spent displays, options for taking breaks, and account balance visibility.
Direct marketing communications like emails or texts must include “a clear and conspicuous Internet link that allows the recipient to unsubscribe by clicking on one link.”
‘Common-sense approach’Cited by SBC Americas, State Rep. David Rutigliano, who is a co-sponsor of the bill, said: “This is a common-sense approach to some of the problems that we’re seeing throughout society, especially amongst young men and gambling.
“The fact that you could fund a gambling account with a joint credit card, and your spouse may not know that you’re using that card for that purpose, is outrageous.
“Many of those ads have you do thousands of dollars worth of bets in a short period of time to get your $200.”
Some opponents raised concerns that the bill could interfere with tribal sovereignty and questioned whether it might sidestep existing agreements with the tribes.
Lawmakers also worried that the process was being rushed and that there hadn’t been enough consultation with the tribes before moving forward.
State Rep. Anthony Nolan responded: “It just seems like we’re taking something away from them that was negotiated.”
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