The brick and mortar casino industry might have gone through a torrid time in 2014 but gambling establishments are not slowing down their efforts to construct more casinos. New York and Massachusetts have approved the construction of a number of new casinos that will most likely kick start operations in 2017.

The state of Connecticut believes that these new casinos in New York and Massachusetts will lure locals across the state and negatively impact the casino industry in Connecticut. Union leaders, a coalition of state legislators and the two federally recognized Indian tribes recently joined forces and announced that they are proposing a new bill that will allow up to three new smaller casinos that will look to address the competition thrown up by Massachusetts and New York.

State Senate President Martin Looney stated that it was important for this new bill to be approved as it was in the best interests of the state of Connecticut to protect the casino industry from the competition that is looking to capitalize on the Connecticut market. The new casinos if approved would be run jointly by the state’s two native American tribes on their own reservations. The new facilities will most likely be constructed either in Fairfield or Hartford.

In a statement, Mohegan Tribe Chairman Kevin Brown “I think, honestly, the word is equilibrium. The market in the northeast is reaching its equilibrium and the question is simply, which part of that equilibrium stake do we want to take into the state of Connecticut? And if we just sit back. We’ll lose”.

The Mohegan tribe owns and operates the Mohegan Sun in  Uncasville. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe own and operate Foxwoods in Mashantucket.