Can Rhode Island Do What Others Couldn’t And Pass An Online Gambling Bill?

Just when it looked like the number of states with legal online gambling would remain at seven, a Rhode Island online casino effort came out of left field in April. And last week, the Rhode Island Senate passed a bill to legalize online casino gambling in the state. 

After a few amendments to overcome some concerns, the Senate vote wasn’t close, with the legislation passing the online casino bill, S 948, by a 30-4 vote. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The Rhode Island legislature adjourns on June 30.

Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, who introduced the legislation, explained the impetus for the expansion as adding “convenience to Rhode Islanders who would like to play the existing table games offered at Twin River via their mobile devices.” According to Ruggerio, online casino gambling would also help Rhode Island casinos stay competitive in a crowded regional market. 

A Look Inside Rhode Island’s Online Casino Bill

Rhode Island’s online casino bill is structured like its sports betting law, with the state’s casinos offering online casino gambling through the state lottery. 

As passed by the Senate:

• The bill gives Bally’s, the state’s sole casino operator, exclusive rights to online casino gambling – Bally’s already has a sports betting monopoly in Rhode Island.
• Allows online casino gambling within the borders of Rhode Island to anyone aged 21+ - sports betting is 18+ in Rhode Island.
• Live dealer games would have to be simulcast from the floor of Bally’s Lincoln or Tiverton casinos.
• The state would receive 61% of all online slot revenue, with the towns of Lincoln and Tiverton receiving 1.45%. The platform vendor would receive 22.45% of online slot revenue and the vendor 15%.
• The table game revenue split is as follows: 15.5% to the state, 35% to the platform vendor, 48.5% to the vendor, and 1% to the towns of Tiverton and Lincoln.

The Rhode Island Market

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country and ranks 45th in population, with just over 1 million residents. However, as we saw with sports betting, Rhode Island will likely attract online gamblers from neighboring Massachusetts. 

Bally’s estimated the Rhode Island online casino market at $210 million over the first five years. Estimates from the Rhode Island Department of Revenue weren’t as rosy, pinning revenue at 162.6 million over the first five years. The Department of Revenue’s assessment was the impetus for raising the state’s revenue share to 61%.  

Legalization in Rhode Island Spur Other Efforts

Legalization in Rhode Island could also have a knock-on effect in neighboring Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine – the latter two states flirted with online casino bills this year. 

That knock-on effect could also carry over to other parts of the country, as states like Indiana and Iowa are seen as online gambling candidates.