Rhode Island Gambling
Rhode Island is a tiny state in New England. It recently expanded casino gaming as its racing industry collapsed while gamblers took their action to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. In addition to live gaming, there are also a couple of online forms available.
Rhode Island Racing Industry
There were two racetracks in Rhode Island. Newport Grand offered horses, while Lincoln Park raced greyhounds. These tracks became obsolete after casinos in Connecticut lured players away. The off-track betting parlors remain open to this day. Both properties expanded into video lottery casinos.
Rhode Island Casinos
The state’s two former racetracks now offer casinos. Twin Rivers Casino is on the Lincoln Park property. It is a full service casino. It offers slots, video poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, house-bank poker games and live poker. Newport Grand has been unable to receive local voter approval to expand beyond slots and video poker as required by state law. Newport Grand offers video versions of blackjack and roulette.
Both casinos offer smoking and nonsmoking sections. The minimum age to gamble at Rhode Island casinos is 18. Most states require players to be at least 21 years of age to enter a casino.
North Dakota licenses Bet America which accepts legal online wagers for horse racing, dog racing and fantasy sports. This is legal for residents of this state (please read their terms and conditions to ensure this has not changed).
Rhode Island Lottery
The Rhode Island Lottery was approved by voters in 1973. The first lottery ticket was sold on May 21, 1974. Scratch-off tickets and lotto drawings are offered by the Rhode Island Lottery. There is keno available in bars and bowling alleys. These are electronic drawings held at a central point every four minutes using a computerized random number generator during normal business hours.
Rhode Island Online Gambling
The only form of legalized online gambling in Rhode Island is off-track betting. Horses and greyhounds may be wagered on over the Internet and on Android and iOS apps. TVG, TwinSpires and BetAmerica are among the companies that accept bets on races from Rhode Island residents. The state’s two racinos do not provide this service.
Daily fantasy sports sites operate in Rhode Island. These contests have players choose athletes on a day of sports. Points are earned based on the stats created by those performances. The best picks take home the cash. Sites like DraftKings and FanDuel feel that these types of games for real money fall under skill gaming laws. In February 2016, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin found daily fantasy sports to be legal in Rhode Island under state law. That said, he also “strongly advised law makers to establish and impose strict regulations on DFS operators”.
There are dozens of online gambling sites that offers games like poker, casinos and sports betting in Rhode Island. None are licensed to operate in the state.
Rhode Island Charity Gambling
Charities are permitted to offer bingo, raffles and other games of chance in Rhode Island.
Online gaming works — it’s been licensed in Europe for years, and it’s been licensed in New Jersey, Nevada, and in Delaware. If you are a resident of The Ocean State, don’t just sit there — make your voice heard.