A new bill has been put forward in Connecticut calling for the banning of greyhound racing. Bill 5042 is the latest attempt put forward by two republicans and one democrat legislator to attempt to have the gambling staple banned in the state.
Proposed by 105th district representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria, 91st district representative Michael D’Agostino, and 18th district senator Heather Somers, the bill asks for full prohibitation on the use of any greyhound racing tracks, including broadcasting races taking place outside the state.
This bill is simply the latest in a long line of attempts to ban greyhound racing, going all the way back to 2017, when a bill passed the Senate but stalled at the House. A previous bill also failed in 2021 and 2022.
According to Gambling News: “Both the bill from February and the current bill, however, point to the fact that 41 other US states have already made greyhound racing illegal. The two bill proposals also highlight that the dogs participating in such races are often treated in inhumane ways and are subject to abuse and injuries. The use of live bait is also underlined as cruel.”
An interesting point is that Connecticut has recently legalised online gambling and sports betting in October of 2021, with over 1.2 million bets placed in the first week.
