Summary: Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo has signed S 37 into law, adding mobile wagering to the state’s sports betting industry.
Rhode Island was one of the first states in the US to decide to legalize sports betting once the Supreme Court ruled the activity was no longer banned across the nation. The state has offered land based wagering for some time and are now set to offer mobile options as well.
S 37 Signed Into law
Legislation S 37 was recently signed into law, allowing Rhode Island to offer mobile sports betting options. The new industry is run by the lottery and mobile gaming will now help to bring in more revenues to the state. Governor Gina Raimondo seemed to have no qualms about allowing mobile wagering, as she was helpful in starting sports betting in general for the state.
Currently, the state offers legalized sports betting at the Twin River Tiverton and the Twin River Lincoln. The casinos started with sports betting last year and will be opening a permanent sportsbook this year. Operations started in temporary locations.
The Twin River locations are ready to offer sports betting. They are grateful to be offering sports betting in general but look forward to providing online options via a mobile application. Players already have access to sports betting via the casino floor as well as via self-service kiosks.
Currently, Rhode Island has a strong hold in New England when it comes to sports betting. They are the only state that offers it. With mobile wagering, players would easily be able to move across state lines in order to take part in gaming.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio was one of the lawmakers who worked to ensure the state could offer mobile wagering. The goal was to generate more revenues as well as make wagering more convenient.
The Senator stated:
Expanding to mobile gaming would provide a convenient option for those wishing to enjoy this form of entertainment and open up the economic benefits beyond the walls of Twin River. I 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.
Bill Was Expected to Pass
It was expected that Governor Raimondo would sign the bill into law. The governor had added the option to a proposed budget for the new fiscal year, including $30 million generated from sports betting. Of that number, $3 million was expected to be new revenues from mobile gaming.
In the beginning, as talks started involving mobile wagering, some lawmakers were fearful of the option. they felt that providing unlimited access could lead to more gambling problems, such as addition. Others were more option to the use of mobile devices, hoping that the state would embrace the use of technology.
With the passage of the bill, an app can be created that will allow players to access sports betting via Twin River online. Players will of course, have to be located in the state to place an online wager. The app will use geo-location technology to determine the location of the bettor before a wager will be allowed to take place.
It has been estimated that the new gambling option will be ready by November of this year. The state will receive 51% of the revenues earned from in-person and mobile wagering. It will be interesting to see once the mobile option is up and running just how much the state will bring in by way of sports betting as a whole as well as from the new online option, especially compared to states like New Jersey whom have seen great success with iGaming.
