Rhode Island sports betting revenue declines in August

Revenue was 53.3% lower than $3.0m in August 2022 and 26.3% behind $1.9m in July this year. This is according to data from the Rhode Island Lottery.

Of this total, mobile betting accounted for $1.2m of all revenue, with $144,099 coming from the retail market. Twin River’s revenue hit $234,649 but a $90,550 loss from Tiverton Casino pushed the total retail figure down.

Sports betting handle hits $22.5m

Turning to player spending and sports betting, handle in Rhode Island for the month reached $22.5m. This was 18.8% lower than $27.7m last year but 11.4% more than $20.2m in July of this year.

Consumers wagered $17.7m online and $4.8m at retail sportsbooks in the two-month period. Twin River took $2.8m in bets at its retail betting facility while Tiverton Casino took $1.9m.

Looking at the state’s performance in its financial year to date, revenue came in at $3.3m. This is 44.1% lower than the $5.9m generated in the same period last year.

Sports betting handle for the period was also lower at $42.7m, down 19.4% from $53.0m.

Rhode Island to launch legal igaming

Rhode Island also recently moved to legalise igaming. Governor Dan McKee signed Senate Bill 948 into law on 22 June, extending Bally’s land-based casino monopoly into igaming.

Gamesys, the online arm of Bally’s, becomes the sole operator active in the state. It already operates under a number of brands including Virgin Casino, Tropicana Casino and Rainbow Riches Casino.

There is a 50% tax on online slot revenue with the remainder divided between Bally’s and IGT. Table games are facing a lesser 18% revenue tax.