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- The Rhode Island Senate approved a bill late yesterday night to expand the state’s online sports betting market
- The bill will allow a maximum of six online sports betting operators to be licensed in the state
- Currently only two operators have online sports betting licenses in Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Senate is betting on an expanded sports betting market to bring in additional tax revenues to the Ocean State.
Late Thursday night the members of the Rhode Island Senate approved Sen. Frank A. Ciccone’s (D-7) bill, SB 3118A, by a 29-6 margin. The legislation seeks to expand Rhode Island’s sports betting market to a maximum of six licensed online operators and a minimum of four.
The bill now moves to the Rhode Island House of Representatives for consideration.
No Discussion Before Passage
Despite a massive change to the state’s sports betting market, the bill had no discussion on the Rhode Island Senate floor before being passed.
Ciccone’s bill, if signed into law, will expand the available Rhode Island online sports betting operators to no less than four and no more than six. The Rhode Island Lottery will begin accepting applications for new operators no later than Jan. 1, 2027.
Presently, the IGT-led Sportsbook RI is the only live online sportsbook in the state, operating on behalf of the Rhode Island Lottery. However, Bally’s will be launching Bally Bet later this year.
The request for proposals shall prioritize new operators that demonstrate the following:
- Technical capability to ensure platform integrity and responsible gaming
- Strong regulatory compliance history
- Strong history of sports betting operation in other states
- Commitment to maximizing state revenue and minimizing harm
The Rhode Island Lottery will continue to oversee all sports betting and iGaming regulations in the state under the potential new law.
Changes in Taxation of Sports Betting
Currently, licensed operators are expected to pay a 51% tax rate on all online sports betting revenues.
Under this new legislation, any licensed operator will continue to pay the 51% rate until the state receives the amount of revenue generated by sports betting and online sports betting in fiscal year 2025. Once that mark is met, the tax rate for operators will drop to just 12% for the rest of the year.
If the revenues do not reach the FY 2025 total, each sports betting operators will make an equal additional payment to the state to close the deficit for that year.
For each licensed operator, the bill will increase its revenue share from 32% to 40.5% in a fiscal year until the state receives the amount of revenue generated by fiscal year 2025. Once that mark is reached, the operators will receive 79.5% of revenues for the rest of the year.
As for host facilities, which are the land-based casinos in the state (both owned by Bally’s), revenues will be decreased to 8.5% from 17% for the fiscal year. The host facilities shall receive no less than $4.5 million in sports betting revenues for the year.
Failed 2025 Expansion
The Rhode Island Senate last year also approved a bill from Ciccone to expand the state’s online sports betting from one operator to potentially a maximum of five. The Senate approved SB 748 in June 2025 by a 30-3 vote.
During discussions, members of the Senate approved an amendment that set the total number of online sports betting operators at no more than five, but no less than three if approved. The amendment also disallowed the state to renew its sports betting contract with IGT after Jan. 31, 2026. The original bill set the renewal deadline at July 1, 2026.
However, the bill struggled to gain traction in the House, as it never received a committee hearing. Rhode Island concluded its legislative session on Saturday, June 21, and the bill died.