Rhode Island legislators let the session end without passing a bill that would have expanded the RI sports betting market.
Rhode Island House members did not take up Senate Bill 748 before the legislative session adjourned this week. Sen. Frank Ciccone’s bill would have ended the RI sports betting monopoly.
The only active online sportsbook in the Ocean State is Sportsbook Rhode Island. IGT runs the platform through a license with the Rhode Island Lottery.
The legislative session adjourned Saturday.
RI sports betting push
Ciccone introduced the bill in March. It passed the Senate earlier this month, 30-3.
“With legalized sports betting flourishing across the country, there is ample evidence on how this new industry works best for consumers and the state” Ciccone said during the Senate approval. “And what we are seeing is that having only one company exclusively operate is not in the best interests of consumers or from a revenue-generating standpoint.”
Earlier this year, the lottery published a Spectrum Gaming Group study recommending adding new operators to the market. The bill would have allowed at least three and up to five sportsbook operators into the state and end the state’s monopoly with IGT. IGT has a 20-year contract through the lottery, but its status as an exclusive sports betting operator is set to expire next year.
IGT pays an effective 51% tax on sports betting revenue. In its last fiscal year, the state took $14 million in taxes from sports betting.
Stall out in Rhode Island
Prior to the Senate passage, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said the bill was not needed because of the 2026 expiration.
It did not move from its House committee assignment.
State monopolies
Along with Rhode Island, several states have sports betting monopolies.
That includes Florida, where the Seminole-owned Hard Rock Sportsbook is the only operator in the Sunshine State.
DraftKings is the sole operator live online in Oregon and New Hampshire, while BetRivers has control of the market in Delaware.
In Montana, Intralot is the sole sports betting provider.
