Rhode Island Inches Closer to Sports Betting

The Ocean State and its Senate have approved Bill S7200A, allowing sports books to provide full-scale betting on sports within the territory. The Governor’s approval is still needed before Rhode Island enters the club and becomes the third U.S. state to legalize wagering on sports after the PASPA ruling in May 2018. Although the of the Senate expressed contradictory opinions on the bill, 66 of them voted in favor of the legislation, now awaiting the official approval of Rhode Island’s Senate Finance Committee.

That being said, operators and casinos are watchfully awaiting Governor, Gina Raimondo’s consent, which is widely expected. In that case, Little Rhody will Delaware, which are the first two states outside Nevada to have started accepting sports bets. According to preliminary financial statistics, the Governor has included $23.3 million in the state’s $9.6 billion budget for 2019. Revenues in sports wagering will be distributed between the state (51%), IGT (32%) and Twin River (17%).

At this point, wagering on sports will take place at two tribal casinos – Twin Rivers Casino and Twin Rivers, located in Lincoln and Tiverton. IGT will also provide the underlying technology that will power the local sports books, and both towns should receive an additional $100,000 in annual compensation for hosting events.

It is almost certain that The Plantation State will Delaware, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, as betting in these states has already been declared legal. Other territories are also working on their legislations, such as New York, but it appears that it will not be ing the betting club this year, since legislators didn’t achieve consensus on the wagering bill. Further development is yet to be announced…