Tens of thousands of college hoops fans were legally allowed to bet on the action as games for the first two rounds of the NCAA’s Men’s Basketball Tournament took place in Providence on Thursday with more on Saturday.
But if anyone wants to place a wager online, they have just one option while in Rhode Island: an app managed by the gambling company that exclusively supplies the state’s lottery equipment and technology.
The monopoly that International Game Technology (IGT) PLC has over Rhode Island’s digital sportsbook could come to an end by mid-2026 under bills filed in the General Assembly this month. Legislation sponsored in the Senate by Frank Ciccone, a Providence Democrat, would allow at least five sports betting vendors to open by July 1, 2026.
IGT’s contract running the state’s only app runs through November 2026.
Companion legislation is sponsored in the House by Rep. Matthew Dawson, an East Providence Democrat. Ciccone’s bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Gaming, while Dawnon’s was sent to the House Committee on Finance.
Both bills have yet to be scheduled for an initial hearing as of Thursday.
Ciccone told Rhode Island Current he introduced the bill after receiving several complaints about the existing Sportsbook RI app such as the inability to place more specific bets like coinflips and who scores first.
“And that’s what the younger people are looking for,” Ciccone said.
IGT’s Sportsbook RI app boasts a 4.4 star rating on Apple’s App Store and a 4.2 on Google Play. Written reviews, however, have been very critical of Rhode Island’s sole digital sportsbook.
“It’s a completely amateur sportsbook and you’re strong-armed into using it,” one user wrote in a 2023 Apple Store review titled “Worst Sportsbook Ever.”
“It’s insane this is the only option you can have in RI,” that same user wrote. “It’s legit better worth my time crossing the border to MA or CT and placing action there.”
But IGT spokesperson Mike DeAngelis said the feedback the company receives has been “extremely positive.”
“We work with the Lottery to ensure a great player experience with the app,” DeAngelis said.
DeAngelis declined to comment on Ciccone and Dawson’s bills.
Ciccone said his proposal is being done to get in line with other states that allow sports betting. Rhode Island is just one of four — including New Hampshire, Delaware, and Montana — with only one betting app.
Massachusetts has seven vendors, while Connecticut allows three.
“I’m just trying to open it up and see what we can get in here to generate a little more revenue,” Ciccone said.
Sports betting revenue has been dwindling in Rhode Island, dropping 24% from fiscal 2023 to 2024.
Sports betting generated $458.8 million in total revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, according to a report by the Rhode Island Office of the Auditor General. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, sports betting brought in $509.5 million in revenue.
Patrick Kelly, a professor of accountancy at Providence College who studies gambling, said he thinks overall revenues would be marginal since it likely would not attract any new customers to Rhode Island.
“Just because you have more sports vendors, doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to get more revenue,” Kelly said.
Fiscal notes on what Rhode Island could receive should it expand to five sports betting vendors have not been filed by House and Senate staff as of Thursday.
Companies may even be dissuaded from entering Rhode Island due to its 51% tax on revenues from sports wagers — which is tied with New York for the steepest in the country.
Bally’s spokesperson Patti Doyle declined to comment on whether the company would launch its own app should the state expand its online sportsbook. FanDuel spokesperson Alex Pitocchelli also declined to comment.
Kelly suggested expanding sports betting apps in the state could lead to more people developing a gambling addiction.
“If you make gambling easier, the result is going to be an increase in problem gambling,” he said.
Ciccone’s legislation doesn’t reference problem gambling, but he said he envisions that the Rhode Island Division of Lottery would include provisions to assist problem gamblers — similar to rules put in place when the state approved an iGaming deal with Bally’s in 2023.
The law that allows iGaming requires the casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton to promote player self-exclusions and a gambling hotline. Bally’s must also reimburse the State Lottery Division no less than $200,000 each year for compulsive and problem gambling programs.
Should addiction rates rise, Ciccone said he would consider codifying how much new vendors would contribute toward problem gambling efforts.
If you or somebody you know is dealing with gambling issues, contact Problem Gambling Services, which can be reached 24/7 at (401) 499-2472.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
