Mobile sports betting bill introduced in Rhode Island

The Senate president of the state has introduced a bill that would legalise the gambling modality.

US.- Senate President Dominick Ruggerio has presented a bill to authorise mobile sports betting in Rhode Island. The Senator believes that the modality could produce millions of dollars in fresh revenue.

The bill was introduced on Wednesday in an attempt to expand sports betting, as it is one of the Senate President’s top priorities for this year’s legislative agenda. Ruggerio said multiple times that mobile betting would be convenient and would generate more revenue for the state, which receives 51% of sports betting revenue.

The legislative piece would allow the creation of an app that would allow people to access sports betting offerings at Twin River, the first casino in New England to accept bets on professional sports in November, from anywhere in the state, though accounts would have to be created in person at Twin River’s Lincoln or Tiverton casino, where staff could verify a person’s age.

Last month, Ruggerio said that he was confident that the measure could gain passage. “We have sports betting now. I don’t see why we can’t have mobile sports betting. It’s a matter of convenience,” he said.

Back in 2017, Oxford Economics released a report that detailed that the state’s handle would reach US$1 billion a year, which would translate into the state collecting approximately US$80 million in revenue.