Legal Sports Gambling Starts In RI On Monday

LINCOLN, RI—Rhode Island on Monday becomes the first New England state — and the eighth in the U.S. — to allow bets on sporting events. The first betting parlor opens at Twin River Casino in Lincoln at 2 p.m. Tiverton Twin River will open a betting parlor next month.

The General Assembly has already included the anticipated revenues in the state budget. The state will collect 51 percent.

Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, New Mexico and Pennsylvania already have it. Except for Nevada, the other states all started this year. A Supreme Court decision last May struck down the Bradley Act and opened the door for sports betting.

However, in Rhode Island, gamblers cannot make bets online or over mobile devices.

The first "ceremonial" bets will be placed by state Senate President Dominic Ruggerio, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, Senate President and John E. Taylor, Jr., executive chairman of Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc., according to a press release from Twin River.

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