[h=1]Rhode Island Sports Betting Heads To Senate For Final Vote[/h]
Eric Ramsey, Jun 19, 2018
<strike></strike>Rhode Island is on the precipice of legal sports betting.
This afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee advanced a budget package that includes provisions to regulate the industry under state operation.
The House passed the $9.6 billion package last week, and the Senate is expected to cast its vote on Wednesday. Its approval could be the last legislative step before the bill returns to Gov. Gina Raimondo for her signature.
July 1 is the drop-dead date to pass a spending package, but lawmakers are hoping to leave the capital by the end of this week. When they do, there’s a good chance Rhode Island sports betting will be legal.
[h=2]What will RI sports betting look like?[/h]This afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee advanced a budget package that includes provisions to regulate the industry under state operation.
The House passed the $9.6 billion package last week, and the Senate is expected to cast its vote on Wednesday. Its approval could be the last legislative step before the bill returns to Gov. Gina Raimondo for her signature.
July 1 is the drop-dead date to pass a spending package, but lawmakers are hoping to leave the capital by the end of this week. When they do, there’s a good chance Rhode Island sports betting will be legal.
The RI Lottery will administer sports betting via the Twin River casinos — one in Lincoln and one in Tiverton. The two towns will collect $100,000 apiece in annual “compensation for serving as the host communities for sports wagering.”
The state will be duly compensated itself. Here’s the proposed allocation of revenue from RI sports betting:
The state will be duly compensated itself. Here’s the proposed allocation of revenue from RI sports betting:
[*=1]State: 51 percent
[*=1]Vendor: 32 percent
[*=1]Casino: 17 percent
IGT is likely to fill the role of “vendor” in that list above. The group has a long-standing relationship with the state, providing its land-based and electronic lottery platforms since 2003. Out of 18 parties that expressed interest, IGT was the only bidder for the sports betting contract.
The governor has budgeted $23.5 million in first-year revenue from sports betting, which means the casinos would need to take around $900 million in wagers. The lottery is tentatively targeting Oct. 1 for launch — three months into the fiscal year — so those projections may need to be prorated.
[h=2]How much RI sports betting revenue?[/h]The governor has budgeted $23.5 million in first-year revenue from sports betting, which means the casinos would need to take around $900 million in wagers. The lottery is tentatively targeting Oct. 1 for launch — three months into the fiscal year — so those projections may need to be prorated.
Pardon our skepticism, but those numbers are a bit optimistic.
For the sake of comparison, the Nevada sports betting market churns through about $5 billion in wagers every year. That’s a world-class, decades-old, had-a-monopoly-unti-last-month sports betting market.
Rhode Island can expect to take about one-fifth of Nevada’s wagering handle, but it’s hard to imagine numbers that rosy. A spokeswoman told the Providence Journal that the estimate was produced without input from Spectrum Gaming Group (which consults for the state).
Those projections seem especially ambitious when you consider that sports betting won’t be available on mobile and internet platforms — at least not initially. The law authorizes only land-based wagering, only in Tiverton and Lincoln. Lawmakers contend that voter approval would be required to expand sports betting beyond the walls of the casinos.
Whatever the handle ends up being, Rhode Island will retain a larger share of the revenue — 51 percent — than any other state.
<strike></strike>For the sake of comparison, the Nevada sports betting market churns through about $5 billion in wagers every year. That’s a world-class, decades-old, had-a-monopoly-unti-last-month sports betting market.
Rhode Island can expect to take about one-fifth of Nevada’s wagering handle, but it’s hard to imagine numbers that rosy. A spokeswoman told the Providence Journal that the estimate was produced without input from Spectrum Gaming Group (which consults for the state).
Those projections seem especially ambitious when you consider that sports betting won’t be available on mobile and internet platforms — at least not initially. The law authorizes only land-based wagering, only in Tiverton and Lincoln. Lawmakers contend that voter approval would be required to expand sports betting beyond the walls of the casinos.
Whatever the handle ends up being, Rhode Island will retain a larger share of the revenue — 51 percent — than any other state.
