Connecticut lottery and tribes prepare for a three-way sports betting competition

When legal sports betting opens in Connecticut next month, it will be remarkable for who is involved.

The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, who control the casino “duopoly,” will not have complete control.

The Connecticut Lottery Corp., a quasi-public agency whose contributions to state coffers have exceeded the casinos’ payments of slot-machine revenue in every fiscal year since 2012-13, will be a major player, with the authority to operate up to 15 retail sports betting locations throughout the state as well as an online “skin,” or brand. Lottery officials announced earlier this month partnerships with a vendor, Rush Street Interactive, and Sportech, the state’s off-track betting operator.