{"id":101462,"date":"2019-03-26T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T01:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=101462"},"modified":"2019-03-26T18:30:00","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T01:30:00","slug":"rhode-island-becomes-latest-state-to-approve-online-sports-betting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rhode-island-becomes-latest-state-to-approve-online-sports-betting\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhode Island Becomes Latest State To Approve Online Sports Betting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Online and mobile device sports betting was officially approved by Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo’s signature on Monday, though it’s still up in the air if the state will provide an app any earlier than November.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has approved a bill to allow for online sports betting within the state’s borders. (Image: WSJ.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The bill<\/a> was signed on Monday by Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo — despite earlier threats by Republican leaders<\/a> to go to court to force a statewide referendum.<\/p>\n

During the debate, legislators were divided over expanding sports betting from brick-and-mortar casinos to online. The entire premise rested on what Democratic leaders had previously argued: that voters legalized sports betting when they approved table games for the Twin River casinos in two separate referendums in 2012 and 2016.<\/p>\n

Requirements Under New Law<\/h2>\n

Under the new expansion, users will have to be located somewhere within Rhode Island to take part and will have to sign up at casinos.<\/p>\n

To avoid legal issues related to the Wire Act — which bans any form of interstate sports betting — wagers are received on a \u201cserver-based gaming system\u201d located at Rhode Island casinos.\u00a0 The gaming system includes all hardware, software, and communications devices that provides an electronic platform for placing and accepting sports wagers.<\/p>\n

The bill also precludes free play provided by the casinos.<\/p>\n

Popularity in Question<\/h2>\n

Last November, Rhode Island started sports betting at Twin River, but it has been a slow start. But\u00a0Democratic state legislators continue to defend the initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new in-person sportsbook \u2026 has been very popular, with lines sometimes stretching out the doors,\u201d Sen. Dominick J. Ruggerio (D-4th Dist.), president of the Rhode Island Senate, said in a statement. He adds it is enjoyed by both state residents and visitors from outside of Rhode Island who patronize casinos.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can envision a group of friends from out-of-state spending an evening out in a local establishment where they can both watch the game and place a wager,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\n

For in-person sports betting, Rhode Island receives 51 percent of winnings, which is among the highest US rates.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis revenue, along with the revenue we anticipate from an expansion to mobile gaming [which will also be at 51 percent] is a tremendous benefit to the state,\u201d House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, another Democrat, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

He says that without legal sports betting, money spent on illegal sports gaming would not allow for a cut for the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you consider that up to 97 percent of sports wagering is done illegally, it makes good sense for the state to increase its revenue by providing an entertainment that can be done safely and legally,\u201d Mattiello said.<\/p>\n

A proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year beginning on July 1 estimates the state will get $30 million from sports betting, including $3 million in new revenue from online betting, according to The Providence Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It remains uncertain which service providers will be engaged by the state for the online sports betting.<\/p>\n

The Rhode Island Lottery currently uses IGT and William Hill US for sports betting at casinos, so the two firms could be selected to develop a new app, or it could be put out for competitive bid.<\/p>\n

Now, IGT and William Hill receive 31 percent of sports betting revenue from the two casinos, and Twin River receives 16 percent.<\/p>\n

Five other states have approved some form of online or mobile sports betting, though it is not under way in some locations yet, and other states are considering its approval.<\/p>\n

Rhode Island was one of seven states to unfurl sports betting last year after the US Supreme Court in May rejected a ban that had been put into place by the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PAPSA) in 1992.<\/p>\n

Once available, the app will access pro and college sports offerings provided through casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Online and mobile device sports betting was officially approved by Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo’s signature on Monday, though it’s still up in the air if the state will provide an app any earlier than November. The bill was signed on Monday by Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo — despite earlier threats by Republican leaders to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":101466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRhode Island Becomes Latest State To Approve Online Sports Betting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rhode Island becomes latest state to approve online sports betting. It is unknown if the state will provide an app earlier than November.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rhode-island-becomes-latest-state-to-approve-online-sports-betting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rhode Island Becomes Latest State To Approve Online Sports Betting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rhode Island becomes latest state to approve online sports betting. It is unknown if the state will provide an app earlier than November.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rhode-island-becomes-latest-state-to-approve-online-sports-betting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-27T01:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Gina-Raimondo-Gov-RI.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1242\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgedsilv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rhode-island-becomes-latest-state-to-approve-online-sports-betting\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rhode-island-becomes-latest-state-to-approve-online-sports-betting\/\",\"name\":\"Rhode Island Becomes Latest State To Approve Online Sports Betting\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rhode-island-becomes-latest-state-to-approve-online-sports-betting\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rhode-island-becomes-latest-state-to-approve-online-sports-betting\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Gina-Raimondo-Gov-RI.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-27T01:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-27T01:30:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"Rhode Island becomes latest state to approve online sports betting. 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