Legalized Sports Gambling: RI Pols Jump On Bandwagon

The Supreme Court ruled, 7-2, to overturn the federal ban on sports gambling. The decision allows individuals states to decide whether to allow sports gambling.

Rhode Island's Gov. Gina Raimondo has included sports betting revenues in her budget. While other states would still need to pass a law allowing sports betting, Rhode Island has already done so, the Providence Journal reported, according to legal experts specifically from the governor's advisors at Adler, Pollock & Sheehan. That happened by implication when the voters allowed casino gambling, the Journal reported.

The General Assembly is moving fast on the Supreme Court news, according to the Legislative Press Bureau's Meredyth Whitty. The state Senate is holding a hearing Tuesday on Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio's bill 2018-S-2045, "and the related budget article." Both are "scheduled for hearing tomorrow afternoon at the Rise of the Senate in the Senate Lounge at a joint meeting of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs Committee (which reviews gaming matters)."

Ruggerio said he anticipated the decision and introduced the legislation earlier this year to capitalize on sports betting "at the facilities where it has been approved by voters already, Twin River in Lincoln and the new venue being constructed in Tiverton.”

The bill has bi-partisan support, Whitty reported.

“Enabling legal sports wagering in Rhode Island would provide revenue for critical state services while providing a new entertainment option for Rhode Islanders,” said President Ruggerio. “The state now has an opportunity to offer a legal means for Rhode Islanders to enjoy a form of entertainment in which many already engage. Sports gaming also provides the state with a revenue stream that supports critical priorities, such as investing in roads and schools, without increasing the tax burden on citizens.”

The American Gambling Association called the decision a "victory for the millions of Americans who seek to bet on sports in a safe and regulated manner."

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was passed in 1992. Only Nevada remained allowed to bet on the results of single games.

The court made the decision on a case brought forth by the state of New Jersey, which had long fought for the right to offer sports gambling.

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Patch Staff contributed to this story.