R.I. could nix in-person signup for sports betting
PROVIDENCE -- Rhode Island General Assembly leaders want gamblers to be able to place sports bets on their phones without having to go to a casino first.
House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello on Wednesday introduced a bill that would get rid of the in-person registration requirement that has been in place since Rhode Island launched its mobile sports betting app last year.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio is expected to introduce matching legislation this week.
“Especially during these times of social distancing, enabling people to register online for sports gaming provides an added convenience that will also enhance revenue for the people of our state,” Mattiello and Ruggerio said in a joint statement through their spokesmen. “With many team sports ready to resume play shortly, this will provide a safe entertainment option for Rhode Islanders to participate in sports [gambling] from their homes.”
Rhode Island launched legal, state-sponsored sports betting in 2018, but made less money than expected and added online sports betting a year later. The state kept in place a requirement that all gamblers sign up in person at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln or Tiverton before they could activate a mobile account. One reason for maintaining in-person registration was security.
But mobile sports betting companies have told lawmakers the state is losing money by requiring bettors to register in person.
The back end of Rhode Island’s sports betting operation is run by International Game Technology and William Hill.
Over the winter, IGT entered a partnership with Twin River in an effort to secure an extension of its state lottery contract.
The COVID-19 emergency has crushed sports betting around the world with most professional sports suspended to prevent infections.
In Rhode Island, sports betting profits — of which the state takes around half — fell from $3.3 million in January to $27,000 in April.
Sports have slowly started gearing up again with professional basketball and baseball set to resume play this summer.
Twin River reopened for limited slot machine play early last month and has been scaling up operations, including restarting table games June 30.
So far, no coronavirus cases have been reported by or traced to the casinos, state Health Department spokesman Joseph Wendelken wrote in an email.
The Department of Health has not inspected either Twin River casino for compliance with its social-distancing plan since the reopening, Wendelken said.
The Rhode Island Lottery did have staff on hand last weekend “to observe a variety of procedures, including those regularly assigned to financial operations monitoring,” Lottery spokesman Paul Grimaldi said. “Twin River continues to actively monitor guests to ensure compliance with its health and safety policies.”
