Rhode Island Sports Wagering Is A State Monopoly

Sports wagering became legal in Rhode Island on November 26, 2018, when the state, not a private licensee, took direct control of the business. L. 2018, ch. 47, art. L. 2018, ch. 70, § 2, states that '[t]he state, through the division of lotteries, shall implement, operate, conduct, and control sports wagering at the Twin River gaming facility and the Twin River-Tiverton gaming facility, once Twin River-Tiverton is licensed as a video lottery and table-game retailer. In furtherance thereof, the state, through the division, shall have full operational control to operate the sports wagering, including, without limitation, the power and authority to' set wagering systems, collect all sports-wagering revenue, monitor the two hosting facilities, and approve the employment of anyone who touches the operation.

The division carries out that control through a single contracted sports-wagering vendor (currently IGT, operating as Sportsbook Rhode Island) rather than licensing competing operators the way New Jersey or Pennsylvania do. Betting windows and kiosks sit inside the Twin River and Twin River-Tiverton casinos, the two facilities named in the statute. 2-16, which requires that a 'hosting facility shall only accept online wagers from players who have been affirmatively located as being physically present in the state of Rhode Island at the time of their wager', geolocation is checked on every bet, not just at signup.

3 lets the division director set standards 'prohibiting persons under eighteen (18) years of age from participating in sports wagering,' a lower floor than the 21-and-over rule several neighboring states use. Because the framework is a state monopoly rather than a licensing scheme, there is no path for an independent sportsbook, bar, or app to take sports bets legally in Rhode Island outside the Lottery's contracted platform.

Betting outside the Lottery's system is prosecuted as bookmaking under RIGL 11-19-14, a separate criminal statute: a first conviction carries a fine up to $500 or up to one year in prison, and a second conviction brings one to five years. Inside the legal system, the division can bar underage bettors under 42-61.2-3.3, and problem gamblers who self-exclude can be blocked at both the retail windows and the Sportsbook Rhode Island app.