Rhode Island
Author: Anthony Vlahovic
Last Updated: 20 November, 2024
If getting sports betting legalized after PASPA was a race, Rhode Island would have at least gotten a medal. The Ocean State passed a sports betting bill just a month after the historic ruling, but it’s important to note that the state’s betting infrastructure is much different than most.
Legal and licensed apps:
SPORTSBOOK | Must be 18+. No welcome bonus available. T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly.
SOCIAL SPORTSBOOK & BETTING EXCHANGE | 19+. New customers get a daily Prophet Cash bonus for their first 30 days, equal to 2% of their first purchase's Prophet Cash volume. Max total bonus: 300 in Prophet Cash. Play-through requirement: 1X. T&Cs apply.
SOCIAL SPORTSBOOK | 18+. No real money betting is offered, and the app is intended only for entertainment purposes. T&Cs apply.
SOCIAL SPORTSBOOK | 18+. The app is free to play, and no purchase is required. No real-money gaming is offered. T&Cs apply.
SOCIAL SPORTSBOOK & SWEEPSTAKES CASINO | 18+. New customers can claim 170,000 Gold Coins + 7 Sweeps Coins by completing tasks after signing up (no deposit required). Check instructions from the Sportzino site. T&Cs apply.
SOCIAL SPORTSBOOK & CASINO | 21+. Play-for-fun platform - for entertainment only. T&Cs apply.
DFS | 18+. Terms & conditions apply
DFS | 18+. The 20%/$500 first deposit bonus is for new customers only. Promo code SAVE must be used. Minimum 1st deposit required: $5. Play-through requirement: 25X. Further T&Cs apply.
DFS | 18+. The $25 no-deposit bonus is claimable only by completing the signup process. Bonus funds will expire after 14 days if not used. Play-through requirements and further T&Cs apply.
All legal ways to bet on in Rhode Island
| Is online sports betting legal in Rhode Island? | Yes |
| Is in-person sports betting legal? | Yes |
| Is daily fantasy sports legal? | Yes |
| Is betting on college sports legal? | Yes (restricted) |
| Is horse racing betting legal? | Yes (online & in-person) |
| Is greyhound betting legal? | No |
| Is political betting legal? | No |
| Is eSports betting legal? | No |
It is common for bettors in northeastern states surrounding Rhode Island to be unable to wager on in-state college teams, and RI is no different. While betting on college sports is allowed, wagering on a University of Rhode Island basketball game, for example, is not.
Aside from in-state colleges, it is also illegal for bettors in the Ocean State to bet on politics and eSports. While there is only one legal mobile sportsbook available to bettors in RI, residents do have the option to use DFS apps or racebooks that are not related to Sportsbook Rhode Island.
Online sports betting in The Ocean State
The US Supreme Court overturned the Professional Sports and Amateur Sports Protection ACT in May 2018. By June of that same year, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed S2045 into law, allowing retail sports betting to launch in the state's two casinos.
Sports betting officially launched in Rhode Island in November 2018, thanks to S2045's signing into law. This bill allowed the state's two casinos to take legal sports wagers and established the tax structure and how the revenue from sports betting would be divided amongst the state.
While getting sports betting legalized that quickly was impressive, the state was still losing money due to the lack of volume in the market. As a result, lawmakers developed SB37, which called for the state’s lottery, which oversees the sports betting industry, to run online sports betting.
This didn’t mean the lottery could start handing out licenses to online operators, as the state did not want the online betting operation to be a bidding process. With that, the RI Lottery worked hand in hand with William Hill to create their own mobile sports betting app, Sportsbook Rhode Island.
Sportsbook Rhode Island won't blow anyone away compared to brand-name mobile betting apps. Still, its simple layout and live betting function will at least satisfy bettors throughout the state. This sportsbook has been the only game in town for quite a few years, and it does not look like that will change anytime soon.
All legal RI sports betting apps in 2024:
Sportsbook app | Launch date |
|---|---|
Sportsbook Rhode Island (William Hill) | September 4, 2019 |
Sports betting & gambling legislation in RI
Regardless of how big or small the betting market is in Rhode Island, bettors must still follow the rules and regulations laid out by the Rhode Island Lottery. One of the most significant rules is that bettors must be 18 or older to place a wager. While lawmakers debated remote registration extensively, SB2919 and HB8097 eventually clarified that bettors could create an account with Sportsbook Rhode Island anywhere in the state.
Remote registration and the gambling age are just a few of the rules and regulations regarding sports betting that the Rhode Island Lottery oversees. The state lottery also withholds 5.99% of all gambling winnings for state tax purposes.
Once the issue of remote registration was addressed in 2020, the state remained stagnant on gambling-related topics until 2023, when Gov. Dan McKee signed Senate Bill 948 Sub B into law in June. This new gambling bill legalized iGaming, including online poker, in the Ocean State. The first online casino in RI, delivered by Bally's Corporation, launched officially on March 5, 2024, and is available on both the iOS mobile app and desktop form.
| Are online casinos legal in Rhode Island? | Yes |
| Are retail casinos legal? | Yes |
| Are social sportsbooks legal? | Yes |
| Are sweepstakes/social casinos legal? | Yes |
| Is online poker legal? | Yes |
| Is the lottery legal? | Yes |
| The launch date of sports betting in Rhode Island? | November 26, 2018 |
| How many legal sports betting apps are there in RI? | 1 |
| How many legal retail betting sites are there in RI? | 2 |
| Is remote registration allowed? | Yes |
| Legal age for sports betting in Rhode Island? | 18+ |
| Rhode Island's tax rate for betting/gambling winnings | 5.99% |
| Who regulates sports betting in Rhode Island? | Rhode Island Lottery |
Most recent updates from the RI sports betting & gambling scenes
November 20, 2024: The Rhode Island Rams have opened the season 3-0 in basketball. They are still (+10000) to win the A10 regular season title.
November 8, 2024: The Rhode Island Rams football team will head to Delaware this weekend, where they are listed as (+10.5) point underdogs.
November 1, 2024: College basketball season is a few days away, and the Rhode Island Rams are currently (+2500) to become the A10 Regular Season Champs.
October 25, 2024: Rhode Island will host Maine this weekend in a game where they are listed as (-5.5) point favorites.
October 18, 2024: The Rhode Island Rams will head to New Hampshire this weekend to take on the Wildcats as (+3.5) point underdogs.
September 18, 2024: Coming off their second win of the season, the Rhode Island Rams will travel to LIU this upcoming weekend.
September 3, 2024: The Rhode Island Rams picked up a 20-17 win over Holy Cross in week one of the college football season. The Rams will now travel to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers.
April 3, 2024: Rhode Island experienced a substantial 42% decline in sports betting revenue in February before iGaming launched. The state's revenue for February totals $2.9 million, a significant drop from January's $5 million. February's revenue fell short by 19.4% compared to the previous year.
March 5, 2024: Bally's Corporation introduces its online casino in Rhode Island, eight months after the state legalized iGaming. Players aged 21 and above can access around 170 slot and table games via desktop or iOS mobile app.
In-person sports betting sites and locations
Retail sports betting in RI is limited to two locations, both of which are casinos run by Bally’s.
While horse racing is legal in the Ocean State, no racetracks or off-track betting locations exist. As a result, anyone interested in betting on horse racing must download and use a racebook offered to the state, like TVG.
Retail Sportsbook | Location |
|---|---|
Bally’s Twin River Casino Resort | 100 Twin River Rd, Lincoln |
Bally’s Tiverton Casino & Hotel | 777 Tiverton Casino Blvd, Tiverton |
Sports betting in neighboring states
Residents tired of the limited betting options in Rhode Island can cross the state’s border to find a vast sports betting market in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
To read more about what sportsbooks are available in both CT and MA, click on their name in the info box below.
| State | Online sports betting | Retail sports betting | DFS | Horse Race betting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal |
| New York | Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal |
| Connecticut | Legal | Legal | Legal | Legal |
Sports betting revenue impact on Rhode Island's economy
Information regarding the sports betting license fee in Rhode Island is not available. For what it’s worth, it is unlikely the state will hand out any more licenses for the time being anyway, as the Ocean State seems complacent with its current retail and online operators. Rhode Island has one of the highest tax rates in the country, at 51%. New Hampshire has the same rate, which makes sense since both states monopolize mobile sports betting.
With the current sports betting infrastructure in Rhode Island, the state's earning potential is limited. Only one mobile sportsbook and two retail betting locations certainly won’t yield a high monthly revenue, which the state has shown by averaging around $3 million a month.
Rhode Island is one of three states with a monopoly in their sports betting infrastructure, and if these states do well in one area, it is tax revenue. With the high tax rate for operators, RI has made over $91 million in tax income since legalizing sports betting, which is more than some states that have a complete market of mobile betting apps and retail facilities.
Rhode Island sports betting record months:
Sports betting handle: January 2023 ($62,317,384)
Revenue: November 2021 ($6,703,144)
Tax income: November 2021 ($3,418,603)
Latest RI sports betting revenue report breakdown (August 2024)
Reported by the Rhode Island Lottery.
Total betting handle: $28,371,561
Mobile betting handle: $23,625,010
Retail betting handle (Twin River Casino): $3,646,649
Retail betting handle (Tiverton Casino): $1,099,902
Winnings Paid to Players: $26,507,482
Hold: 6.57%
Gross revenue: $1,864,079
Tax revenue for the state: $950,680
Recent revenue report data - Compared to the previous year (YoY)
Report | Total handle | Mobile handle | Gross revenue | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
August 2024 | $28,371,561 | $23,625,010 | $1,864,079 | $950,680 |
August 2023 | $22,472,561 | $17,711,578 | $1,365,807 | $696,562 |
YoY change | Up 26.25% | Up 33.39% | Up 36.48% | Up 36.48% |
RI sports betting revenue in 2024
The total monthly handle, revenue, and tax figures Rhode Island has gained are presented below for 2024. The bracketed percentage indicates the change compared to the previous month.
Month | Handle (MoM) | Revenue (MoM) | Tax income |
|---|---|---|---|
Aug. 2024 | $28,371,561 (14.18%) | $1,864,079 (-31.56%) | $950,680 |
Jul. 2024 | $24,848,015 (-24.73%) | $2,723,789 (2.22%) | $1,389,382 |
Jun. 2024 | $33,010,501 (-11.39%) | $2,664,593 (-20.31%) | $1,358,942 |
May 2024 | $37,252,539 (-1.21%) | $3,343,552 (21.99%) | $1,705,212 |
Apr. 2024 | $37,709,038 (-16.01%) | $2,740,781 (-11.68%) | $1,397,798 |
Mar. 2024 | $44,895,394 (15.83%) | $3,103,076 (7.44%) | $1,582,569 |
Feb. 2024 | $38,758,578 (-13.50%) | $2,888,343 (-42.23%) | $1,473,055 |
Jan. 2024 | $44,808,686 (-6.46%) | $4,999,921 (20.57%) | $2,549,960 |
2024 Total YTD | $289,654,312 | $24,328,134 | $12,407,598 |
Yearly revenue data
Year | Handle (YoY) | Revenue (YoY) | Tax income |
|---|---|---|---|
2024 YTD | $289,654,312 | $24,328,134 | $12,407,598 |
2023 | $461,283,426 (-13.39%) | $40,277,816 (-18.30%) | $20,541,685 (-18.30%) |
2022 | $532,609,814 (17.20%) | $49,298,062 (27.22%) | $25,142,028 (27.22%) |
2021 | $454,457,990 (104.79%) | $38,751,496 (61.01%) | $19,763,262 (61.01%) |
2020 | $221,916,076 (-9.72%) | $24,067,477 (35.16%) | $12,274,913 (28.73%) |
2019 | $245,811,496 (1685.03%) | $17,806,696 (1627.28%) | $9,535,630 (1713.67%) |
2018 | $13,770,713 | $1,030,910 | $525,764 |
TOTALS | $2,219,503,827 | $195,560,591 | $100,190,880 |
Rhode Island - Some commonly asked questions (FAQ):
Are there any legal restrictions in RI’s sports betting landscape?
The most significant restriction to Rhode Island’s sports betting market is that there is only one mobile betting app available in the state due to a monopoly.
How much tax revenue has Rhode Island generated from sports betting?
Rhode Island has one of the highest tax rates for sports betting in the country at 51%, and as a result, the state has made over $89.8 million in tax revenue since November 2018.
What is the most popular sports franchise amongst Rhode Island residents?
Since RI is not the home to any pro sports teams, the most popular pro team in the state is the Boston Red Sox. A big reason for this is that the Red Sox Triple-A team plays in RI.
What is the biggest case of illegal gambling in RI?
Seventeen individuals were arrested back in 2016 due to their involvement in an illegal gambling ring being run out of Rhode Island. Two of those individuals were former professional baseball players.
