Rhode Island Sports Betting Reflects Recovery

Rhode Island saw a steep increase in sports gaming revenues—with profits up 236.9 percent from June to July—boosted by the Covid pandemic that shut down other forms of gaming. Governor Gina Raimondo (l.) is expected to sign a bill eliminating the in-person registration requirement.

Rhode Island Sports Betting Reflects Recovery

The July figures for sports betting revenue showed that Rhode Island’s gaming market recovery from the Covid-19 shutdown helped a fuel stratospheric leap of 246.8 percent from $101,328 in June to $351,425.

However, it wasn’t such a cheery number when compared to $821,579 for July of last year; it was a 57.5 percent drop. Player spending increased 236.9 percent from June, or $6.7 million, but was less than half of the $14.7 million bet in July of last year.

Rhode Island’s mobile sportsbook was the main driver for the state’s sports betting, with $407,471 revenue from a total of $4.4 million wagered. Brick and mortar sportsbook generated $56,046 in revenue from $2.3 million wagered.

The state is poised to adopt a law that would remove the in-person registration requirement that many in the industry say has hobbled the state’s market. Amendment H 8097, adopted by the legislature, awaits the signature of Governor Gina Raimondo.