Connecticut online casino growth slows to 6% in September, its last month at 18% tax

Connecticut's two online casinos generated $57 million in September 2026, up 6% on a year earlier, well off the 17% gain posted in August. The slowdown lands just as the state's tax on online casino revenue steps up from 18% to 20% in October.

• Connecticut online casino revenue reached $57 million in September 2026, a 6% rise on September 2025, according to Poker Industry PRO.
• August 2026 revenue was $58 million, up 17% year over year, so annual growth fell sharply in a single month.
• Through July 2026, FanDuel's year-to-date Connecticut casino growth was 23.2%, compared with 6.9% for DraftKings, and its lead had grown to $27.5 million.
• Operators pay 18% of online casino gross gaming revenue through September 2026 and 20% for every period after that.

Connecticut’s online casinos generated $57 million in revenue in September 2026, a 6% rise on September 2025, according to Poker Industry PRO’s Market Monitor. It was the state’s last month at the 18% tax rate. From October, operators pay 20% of online casino gross gaming revenue, under notes published by the Department of Consumer Protection.

The market has two operators. DraftKings runs its casino with the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, and FanDuel operates with the Mohegan tribe. Neither offers online poker in Connecticut, so the state’s iGaming totals are casino revenue alone. Online casino gaming began operating on Oct. 12, 2021, the DCP records, which places September at the close of the market’s fifth year.

September’s 6% gain trails August’s 17% jump

A month earlier, the same outlet put August revenue at $58 million, up 17% year over year. September’s dollar total was close to that figure, but the annual growth rate fell from 17% to 6% in one month. It also sits well below the 15% the state averaged through July.

The comparison with 2025 is starker. Connecticut iGaming revenue reached $707.5 million in calendar 2025, up 31.7% on 2024, the American Gaming Association reported. The AGA put the state’s combined iGaming and sports betting tax revenue at about $139.1 million for the year, up 28.8%.

One soft month does not make a trend. Still, the September figure is consistent with a small, two-operator market without online poker settling into slower growth after five years, rather than adding the kind of momentum that carried it through 2025.

FanDuel’s $27.5 million lead over DraftKings

Within that market, the two brands are moving at different speeds. Through July 2026, FanDuel’s year-to-date Connecticut casino growth was 23.2%, compared with 6.9% for DraftKings, analyst Chris Altruda wrote in his Straight to the Point newsletter. FanDuel’s lead over its rival had grown from $3.8 million at the end of 2025 to $27.5 million.

FanDuel’s August result came with a caveat. Altruda attributed most of FanDuel’s 15.2% Connecticut revenue growth that month, to $33.7 million, to better house outcomes. House results vary from month to month, so that gain does not by itself show a larger customer base.

On the company level, DraftKings reported iGaming revenue up 7.5% to $461.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, in its quarterly filing. Connecticut is one of five US states where the company offers iGaming.

DraftKings’ $3,011,766.77 bonus refund and the 15% promo cap

Promotions have been a regulatory pressure point in the state. In July 2025, under an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with the DCP, DraftKings agreed to refund $3,011,766.77 to 7,075 Connecticut players who took part in casino bonus offers that the regulator said were not properly disclosed. The company also agreed to pay $50,000 into the department’s enforcement fund.

DraftKings denied any wrongdoing. It agreed to new disclosure standards, staff training and reporting to the DCP through 2031, NEXT.io reported. Kris Gilman, director of the DCP Gaming Division, said at the time that operators must clearly tell customers the terms of any promotion, including wagering requirements.

The tax code limits how much promotional spending helps the bottom line. Operators can deduct promotional credits from taxable revenue only up to a cap, which DCP notes put at 25% of win in the first year, 20% in the second year and 15% from October 2023 onward. Credits beyond that line stay in taxable revenue.

Public Act 21-23 lifts the rate to 20% in October

The rate change was written into law at launch. Public Act 21-23 sets the state payment at 18% of online casino gross gaming revenue for the first five years after the first license was issued, and 20% in the sixth year and every year after, according to the Connecticut General Assembly.

The timing is awkward for operators. A two-point increase arrives in the same season that year-over-year growth dropped to 6%, with the promotional deduction already held at 15% of win. Both operators now face a higher share of every dollar going to the state.

For states weighing their own iGaming bills, Connecticut offers a live example of a scheduled step-up rather than a rate set once and left alone. The DCP’s notes leave no ambiguity on the start date. October 2026 is the first month taxed at 20%.

📷 Connecticut State Capitol: Paul Danese, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons