Bridgeport, Connecticut. Image courtesy of Google Maps.

A proposal to build a casino in Bridgeport passed a key milestone in the state legislature yesterday.

The General Assembly’s Public Safety and Security Committee overwhelmingly backed a measure that would expand gambling in Connecticut through sports betting, internet lottery games and a new casino, whose operator and site would be selected through a public bidding process, the Connecticut Post reported. A similar proposal passed the House last year, but died in the Senate.

MGM Resorts International, operators of the Springfield, Massachusetts casino, has long lobbied to be allowed to build a casino in Bridgeport. The state’s tribal casinos have objected to the plan.