Rhode Island Sports Betting Revenue Fails in February

After the US Supreme Court lifted the sports betting ban in May 2018, Rhode Island was one of the first US states that introduced legal sports betting way back in November of 2018.

Although many were feeling optimistic about potential revenue from this form of gambling…

…it looks like the numbers in February have been very disappointing.

Rhode Island has officially reported a loss of $890.623 in February revenue, while there was an increase in handle offset by higher player winnings.

Why did this happen?

Well, gamblers wagered a total of $20.7 million on sports events during the month of February, but actually had a higher win rate, so they gained $21.6 million.

But, nevertheless, February was actually a much better month than January, because there was a slight increase in handle since in January it came to $19.1 million.

This was the first time that RI revealed negative sports betting results since launching legal sports gambling in the month of November last year.

The Situation in Twin Rivers Casinos

The only facilities that hold the license to offer legal sports wagering in the state are the Twin River casinos in both Lincoln and Tiverton.

The Lincoln venue took a staggering $16.6 million in wagers during the month of February. But…

…the casino had a loss of $908.264 during the same month because the win rate was $17.6 million.

On the other hand, the casino in Tiverton took only $4.03 million in sports bets during February, but since the customers won $4.02, the venue managed to gain a bit of revenue at around $17.641.

Three Months of Legal Sports Wagering

It is interesting to mention that from November 26 of 2018 to February 28 of 2019, the revenue from both Twin Rivers casinos amounted to $300.265.

Lincoln’s casino actually took a total amount of $44.1 million in sports wagers…

…while paying out $43.8 million to customers who managed to win. So, at the end of February, the casino had revenue of $283.747.

On the other hand, Tiverton had only a total of $9.4 million in sports bets and paid out $9.4 million in winnings, so it was left with revenue of $16.518.

Both casinos launched legal sports betting at around the same time, but the Lincoln venue had a little advantage because it launched a week earlier. It went live on November 26, while the one in Tiverton started on December the 3rd.

Just a few weeks ago, both casinos introduced self-betting kiosks with the aim to reduce lines during the peak of the sports gambling season.

Mobile Sports Betting in Rhode Island

On a brighter note, both venues could see a little boost when it comes to their revenue because mobile sports betting will soon launch in Rhode Island…

…since Governor, Gina Raimondo, approved a bill that would legalize mobile wagering in this state.

Although sports betting in RI is allowed only in land-based venues because of the law that was approved last June, the new bill S 37 will allow both casinos to also launch mobile sports betting.

Source:

“Rhode Island sports betting slips to loss in February”, igamingbusiness.com, April 2, 2019.