Rhode Island sports betting suit set to continue

Despite a ruling that had brought it down, a judge said the Rhode Island sports betting lawsuit can move forward in light of new evidence.

US.- Rhode Island decided to legalise sports wagering last year but is facing a lawsuit over it. Republican activist Daniel Harrop filed sued the state for not letting voters decide on the matter.

The plaintiff’s complaint had been brought down by a Superior Court judge. He said Harrop lacked standing to sue because he wasn’t personally harmed, but he actually filed new evidence.

The complainant produced evidence of a bet from last year and updated the protest to cite a loss. According to Judge Brian Stern, that was enough to allow the claim against Rhode Island and the sports betting legalisation.

Sports betting revenue

The Rhode Island Lottery has reported that sports betting revenue in October declined as operators in the state registered US$2.5 million in revenue. The results are virtually the same as the ones from September.

The poor performance comes despite the state registering its highest-ever sports betting handle. Players bet around US$28.3 million on sports in Rhode Island in October. The previous record had been set in March when the state registered US$23.6 million in sports betting handle.

Rhode Island also registered another record: payout to players totalled US$25.8 million, and that is the reason why the October results were worse than September’s even though the figure was similar.

Moreover, online sportsbooks registered a handle increase of 78$ from September, a month in which it launched operations in the first week.