Rhode Island’s Senate Wednesday night passed an amended version of SB 748, which would open the legal sports wagering market in the state to competition. The state currently has one platform available, run by International Game Technology (IGT) on behalf of the state lottery.
The bill would allow for up to five digital sports betting platforms and the non-renewal in 2026 of IGT’s sports betting contract with the lottery. Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone offered a single amendment that would prohibit the state from renewing the IGT contract after Jan. 31, 2026 and set the minimum number of platforms at three ahead of the vote. The original bill banned the lottery from renewing after July 1, 2026 and set the minimum number of platforms at two.
The amendment passed, 29-0, and the bill itself passed, 30-2. There was no discussion.
SB 748 will now go back to House, where it has been stalled in the Finance Committee since early May. Lawmakers in the lower chamber have said they don’t see a need to move forward quickly since IGT’s contract doesn’t expire until late 2026. The legislature is set to be in session until June 30.
Wagering is Ruggerio’s legacy
About a month after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was overturned by the Supreme Court in May 2018, Rhode Island became the third state to pass new sports betting legislation. Only Pennsylvania, which legalized on Halloween 2017, and West Virginia, which did so in March 2018, passed new laws before Rhode Island did — in fact both doing so before PASPA had been overturned.
Delaware, New Jersey, and Mississippi did not need new laws to launch, and operators in Delaware in New Jersey were already taking in-person bets by the time Rhode Island legalized.
Tiverton and Twin River — Rhode Island’s two land-based casinos — took their first wagers in person Nov. 26, 2018 after lawmakers legalized land-based sportsbooks June 22 of that year. Then-Senate President Dominick Ruggerio spearheaded the effort, and was also the architect of a digital wagering bill that passed March 25, 2019. Platforms launched Sept. 4, 2019.
Rhode Island is also one of seven U.S. states with legal iGaming. Ruggerio also sponsored that bill, which made online casino legal in June 2023. It launched in March 2024.
Gambling will stand as one of Ruggerio’s legacies — he died at the age of 76 on April 21 after battling cancer. Ruggerio’s name remains in white on the Senate’s voting board.
