Rhode Island joined the world of online casino gaming as of 12 noon on Tuesday, becoming the seventh state to offer such games to its residents and visitors. 

The first online casino app in the state was launched by Bally’s Twin River Casino. Bally’s prepared for the launch after Rhode Island lawmakers legalized online gambling in June 2023. 

Rhode Island Joins Competitive New England iGaming Market

Rhode Island joins Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia in offering slots and table games online. 

While Rhode Island is the smallest of these markets, lawmakers still believed it was important for the state to add online gambling to its offerings. Residents were able to travel a very short distance – sometimes, only a matter of minutes – to Connecticut, which offered casino games alongside its sports betting products. In some cases, those individuals might even place sports bets while in Connecticut despite having that option available in Rhode Island.

“iGaming will ensure that Rhode Island remains at the forefront of the competitive gaming industry, reinforcing a critical revenue stream for the state while providing an alternative form of entertainment,” State Senate President Dominick Ruggerio said in a statement. “It builds upon other steps we have taken to better position Rhode Island in the gaming and hospitality industries.”

While Rhode Island may be trying to play catchup in a competitive New England online gambling market, their first online casino product already offers at least one advanced feature. Bally’s has set up its own streaming studio at its Twin River Casino in Lincoln to offer proprietary live dealer games. 

“The live gaming product is very exciting,” Craig Eaton, Bally’s president of Rhode Island operations, told reporters. “Not many states do that at all. So depending on demand we are ready and have room to grow.”

The live dealer setup also helped sell iGaming to Rhode Island legislators. Bally’s expects that the live tables will soon run 24 hours a day, and estimates that they will create between 40-60 full time jobs in the state. In addition, allowing the table games to be simulcast from Twin River Casino allowed lawmakers to expand gaming without requiring voters to consider the issue via a referendum.

Expected Revenues Outweigh Concerns over Safety, Cannibalism

The Rhode Island Department of Revenue has estimated that by 2025, online casinos and iGaming will add approximately $25 million in new revenue to the state budget. 

“As with all gaming operations, the state will retain complete regulatory control of iGaming, with nearly 62 percent of the slot revenue and 15 percent of the table game revenue directed to the state,” Eaton added. 

Bally’s began operating its online gambling site on March 1 via a soft launch. That period turned up no significant issues, prompting the Rhode Island Lottery to approve the iGaming platform to go fully live in the state.

Rhode Island has offered online sports betting in the state since 2019, taking in $34.8 million in online handle and $3.8 million in revenue via internet betting sites in January.

Opponents of online gambling expansion have two main concerns in Rhode Island. First, there are the ever-present problem gambling issues. Bally’s will pay at least $200,000 per year to the State Lottery for compulsive and problem gambling programs, and must fully fund those initiatives if the cost is higher. 

The other concern is whether iGaming will generate new revenue, or simply cannibalize money already being gambled on other gaming products like the lottery and brick-and-mortar casinos.

“We have to make sure whatever is wagered online will balance out what would have been actually wagered at the casino,” lottery spokesperson Paul Grimaldi told the Rhode Island Current.

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