Rhode Island’s first sportsbook at Twin River Casino in Lincoln saw betting handle of nearly $683,000 during its first days
The sportsbook at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island handled $682,714 in wagers on professional sports during its first five days of operation, figures released Friday by the Rhode Island Lottery showed.
Twin River Casino launched its sports betting facility on November 26 to become the state’s first gambling venue to offer wagering on athletic competitions. Against the betting handle of $682,714, the casino paid out $609,717 in winnings to gamblers.
That left $72,997 in profit from sports betting operations. The money was split among Twin River, its sports betting partner IGT, and the state. Under Rhode Island’s gambling law, the state gets 51% of sports betting revenue generated at the sportsbooks that operate on its territory. It is unclear how much exactly Rhode Island collected from sports betting in November as expenses and commissions are deducted from winnings before the state receives its share.
Twin River Casino was originally supposed to go live with sports betting on October 1. The state formally authorized the practice via the 2018 budget process in June. Back then, analysts projected that Rhode Island would collect tax revenue of $23.5 million through the end of the fiscal year in June 2019. Projections were lowered significantly following the nearly two-month delay in the start of sports betting in the state. Experts now believe that Rhode Island could reap around $12 million in tax revenue by June 30.
Is Mobile Betting Coming to Rhode Island?
While multiple studies have suggested that mobile betting could really be the thing that would make the big difference in the provision of legal sports wagering services in the US, only three states currently offer their gamblers the opportunity to place bets via their smartphones. It was only a few days ago when West Virginia premiered its sports betting app, joining Nevada and New Jersey.
Rhode Island is poised to at least give the authorization of mobile betting a fair amount of discussion next year. News emerged earlier this month that Senate President Dominick Ruggerio plans to introduce a mobile betting bill in a bid to double tax revenue for the state. According to Sen. Ruggerio, the state could collect $50 million a year, if mobile betting gets rolled out.
A recent Oxford Economics report offered more ambitious projections of betting handle of $1.1 billion and tax revenue of $80 million a year, if Rhode Islanders and guests of the state are allowed to place mobile bets.
Rhode Island currently has two operational sportsbooks – the one in Lincoln that debuted in late November and a facility at Twin River’s sister casino in Tiverton. The latter betting venue was launched in early December. Betting handle and revenue information about the second sportsbook will be included in the Rhode Island Lottery’s December financial report, which will be released on January 28.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories.
