Rhode Island’s mobile sports betting app has signed up over 12,000 people since it launched in September. Fewer than half of those have activated their accounts, however.
State law requires that players go to one of the two casinos in Rhode Island that are owned by Twin River World Holdings (TRWH) to activate their accounts in person.
That means about 6,000 have placed bets using the app or online. However, a spokesman for the state lottery said the numbers were “very good” and pointed out that about 600 are signing up each week. Sports betting is only allowed by persons physically within the state.
According to the spokesman, the state is doing “extremely well” on how much it is keeping after winnings are paid out. In the sixth week after the program was unveiled, bets on NFL games totaled $17.9 million with payouts being $15.8 million.
There was bad news overall for the state’s gaming revenue, which is Rhode Island’s third largest source of governmental revenue. According to the lottery, net revenue from all forms of gaming is $400 million so far, which is $17.4 million less than anticipated.
Slots revenue at the state’s largest casino, Twin River, was 14 percent less than last year and table game revenue was 20 percent less. The decline is being blamed on the opening in June of Wynn Resorts’ Encore Boston Harbor.
