Sportech warns off unlicensed operators in Connecticut

Sportech Ventures, the Connecticut subsidiary of British online and land gambling group Sportech plc, warned off unlicensed operators on the run-up to the Belmont Stakes racing this weekend, reminding them that it is the sole operator licensed in the state to accept online wagers.

The US company operates 15 off-track-betting and sports bars around the state and owns MyWinners.com – the only website legally allowed by the state to offer pari-mutuel online wagers in return for paying the state 3.5 percent.

On Friday Sportech Ventures issued a statement reminding interested parties that the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and Attorney General George Jepsen recently sent cease-and-desist letters to out-of-state online outlets that aren’t licensed to take wagers in Connecticut or to take wagers from Connecticut residents.

“No other site is regulated here or pays the tax that the state should be receiving,” Ted Taylor, president of Sportech Ventures, said in the statement. “Our operations are closely monitored by the Department of Consumer Protection, thereby ensuring that the highest standards of player protection are in place for local residents.”

At the end of May this year the state AG and its Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein signed a form letter sent to 28 online gambling companies demanding they stop marketing their services in Connecticut and accepting wagers from state residents.

The state sent the same cease-and-desist letter to all the unlicensed gambling entities at once, with the firms concerned based in Kentucky, North Dakota, Florida and Ohio. The letters warn, “you must immediately cease and desist from accepting wagers placed from within the State of Connecticut …”

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