Rhode Island Sports Betting Expansion Fails to Get House Vote

The Rhode Island sports betting monopoly won’t be going away quite yet.

The state House did not hold a floor vote on Senate Bill 748 before the legislative session ended. It proposed expanding the online sports betting market to allow for two to five additional sportsbook licenses. The bill had passed the Senate by a vote of 30-3, but the House believed expansion should wait until 2026.

With SB 748 failing, IGT’s Sportsbooks Rhode Island will remain the sole online platform available in the market.

Bill Inspired By Industry Market Study

The Senate bill was introduced shortly after the release of a Spectrum Gaming study on the market. The lottery-funded report suggested that adding four to six more operators would help grow the market and maintain its competitiveness with other regional operators. While the bill initially called for the creation of more licenses, it was amended during committee reviews. 

The lottery has announced it will request more information from Spectrum Gaming over potential expansion next year.

IGT Contract Created Opposition

While the Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill, several key House lawmakers had concerns over Rhode Island’s contract with IGT. Rhode Island signed a deal allowing the operator to be the exclusive sportsbook until late 2026. Any expansion before then would be a violation of the agreement, which could result in an expensive and damaging legal battle.

Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi has been vocal about this issue, believing the effort was a waste of time as long as the contract with IGT remains in place. However, he has been open to exploring the proposal next year. This would allow for more debate, as well as additional information from Spectrum Gaming.

Bill Omits Tax Change

With the IGT contract allowing for possible expansion next year, there are other issues that Senate and House lawmakers will need to agree on. That includes the state’s tax rate for sports betting operators, which is an industry-high 51%. 

SB 748 noticeably omitted any changes to this rate, which some worry could scare off operators. However, the rate is the same as that of fellow northeastern markets in New York and New Hampshire. While Rhode Island doesn’t have the revenue numbers of the Empire State, the market has outperformed all expectations.

Tax rates have been a significant source of tension between states and operators over the last year, and we expect that to play a role when expansion is considered again in 2026.