A FanDuel representative gave the only testimony Wednesday at the first committee hearing for Rhode Island SB 748, which would end the state lottery’s online sports betting monopoly, opening the door for other operators to enter.
FanDuel, obviously, wants to be one of those operators.
“Although there is an appeal to a single-market operator for a state, Rhode Island has shown that there are downsides to this model,” Mike Ventre, senior manager of government affairs at FanDuel, told members of the Senate Labor and Gaming Committee. “Mainly there is a distinct lack of market size and customer participation when Rhode Islanders aren’t given a choice of who they bet with. This directly results in stunted or declining revenues for the state, despite having a 51 percent tax rate.”
Sportsbook Rhode Island, owned by the Rhode Island Lottery in collaboration with IGT and William Hill, is the only online sports betting platform licensed in the state. It has operated as a monopoly since launching in September 2019.
From one operator to at least five
If SB748 passes, that would change after July 1, 2026. The Rhode Island Lottery would “issue an open invitation” for operator license applications and award at least five.
The committee voted to hold the bill for at least a week, when the Rhode Island Lottery is expected to wrap up a study on the potential impact of SB748. Sen. Frank Ciccone, the chief sponsor of the bill and chair of the committee, said Bally’s — whose headquarters are in Providence, Rhode Island — wants to weigh in, too. Bally’s operates the retail casinos at Twin River and Tiverton.
HB 6048, the House proposal to open the market, is scheduled for a hearing Thursday.
Hey, look at what your neighbors are doing
In 2024, Rhode Island generated $35.8 million in sports betting revenue — the sixth-lowest of the 33 legal U.S. mobile betting jurisdictions. That was down from $40.3 million in 2023 and even further below the $49.3 million in 2022. That’s an 18.4% drop followed by an 11.2% drop in back-to-back years.
While states around the country are seeing their sports betting revenue — and, in turn, tax payments — trend upward, the opposite is happening in Rhode Island.
According to a report from the Auditor General, Rhode Island’s gross profit from sportsbooks was $19.2 million in fiscal year 2024, a 24.8% decline from the previous year. The report claimed this happened because “sports betting competition in nearby states increased.”
To FanDuel, Ventre said, this happened because a market with limited options hampers the potential statewide reach.
“Throughout the rest of the country, this is nearly unheard of,” Ventre said of Rhode Island’s revenue decline, “as many states use a multi-operator model and they’ve all seen robust growth.
“Rhode Island has one of the smallest gross gaming revenue shares per person in the country. This is not because Rhode Island bettors are better than the rest of the country. It’s because the market has stalled and isn’t seeing any growth. Simply put, you’re not reaching the amount of people you could. Your residents want a choice.”
Ventre said Rhode Island’s gross gaming revenue per 21-and-over adult is about $40 per year. In neighboring Connecticut, he noted, it’s $80. In Massachusetts, it’s $120.
“The difference between these states and Rhode Island?” Ventre said. “Both of those states … allow for multiple operators at a competitive tax rate, which allows operators to come in, invest in the market, and successfully combat the illegal market.”
Rhode Island is also one of three states with a whopping 51% tax rate. SB748 does not make any mention of adjusting that.
Can Rhode Island be Washington, D.C. 2.0?
Ventre highlighted Washington, D.C., which also used to be a single-operator market before mid-2024. Today there are six operators: FanDuel (which briefly held the monopoly after taking over for GambetDC in April 2024), BetMGM, DraftKings, Caesars, Fanatics, and ESPN BET.
Washington, D.C. also decreased its sports betting tax rate from 40% to a tiered structure, where the rate for online sportsbooks is either 20% or 30% depending on their license type.
Ventre outlined that transition’s success by comparing sports betting tax revenue in Washington, D.C., for the first quarters of fiscal year 2024 versus 2025.
In 2024, one operator plus a 40% tax rate equaled roughly $489,000 in taxes.
In 2025, six operators plus a 20% or 30% tax rate equaled roughly $4.5 million in taxes.
“There’s been about a 10-times increase in tax revenue to the District,” Ventre said. “So they’ve seen kind of wild success there just by switching things and making things more competitive for companies.
“This bill takes the right move and it’s a step in the right direction to making online sports betting open here in Rhode Island. We ask the committee to meet with the industry experts and make amendments to the law to get the marketplace truly where it can be.”
Rhode Island is part of a small club
Although it’s rare, other states also have a single-operator sports betting market.
In New Hampshire, DraftKings has an exclusive agreement with the state lottery to run the only online sportsbook. DraftKings is the sole online operator in Oregon, too. In both states, DraftKings is paying a fairly high tax to the state in exchange for having a monopoly. The Montana Lottery operates Sports Bet Montana, which residents can only use when physically located inside the state’s licensed casinos and taverns.
The biggest operator in the biggest state with a monopoly is Hard Rock Bet in Florida. The Seminole Tribe, owners of Hard Rock Bet, in 2021 signed a new compact to seal exclusivity.
