Bally’s Becomes Second Online Sportsbook in Rhode Island

Big news spread across Rhode Island this week as it confirmed that Bally’s would officially launch its online sportsbook in the Ocean State. This puts an end to the Rhode Island legal sports betting monopoly, which was run by the Sportsbook Rhode Island app, run by the state lottery. While a win for customers, it doesn’t mean Rhode Island is about to fling its doors open for all the major brands like DraftKings, FanDuel and so on. No, this is a measured, calculated step to bring in just 1 more sportsbook and give customers just that little added flexibility for making their sports bets.

Rhode Island is still one of the most restricted legal sports betting states, despite being one of the earliest to legalize sports betting back in 2019. For the near future, it looks like Bally’s is the only extra book that Rhode Island bettors will get, which may come as a disappointment to some. It reflects part of a wider and more contentious battle in the US right now, between state-run or tribal sports betting ownership versus the open markets that attract more operators and create higher competition.

Bally’s To Launch Online Sportsbook in RI

Bally’s is set to become the second online sportsbook in Rhode Island, giving direct competition to Sportsbook Rhode Island. It secured the second online sportsbook license in May, and the platform is set to go live in November, after the current monopoly regime’s agreement expires. This is quite an intriguing expansion, because it is not really the goldmine that it seems. While Bally’s will have only 1 sportsbook to compete with, and that is run by the state lottery and IGT, Rhode Island doesn’t really represent a massive sports betting market.

From what we know about this license, there weren’t many suitors to enter Rhode Island. Besides Bally’s Corporation, only Rush Street Interactive, the owner of BetRivers, had reportedly applied for the license. Bigger brands including the likes of DraftKings, Caesars, BetMGM, and FanDuel were not interested.

Rhode Island Sports Betting Sector

And that probably reflects the narrow window for innovation, high taxation, and strict betting regulation that Bally’s is now set to face in Rhode Island. Rhode Island has the highest taxes on gambling operators, at 51%, and it has a relatively small population. Sure, the competition is not against an experienced betting brand, so Bally’s has a technical edge here through its:

• More valuable bonuses and promotional schemes
• Expanded live betting and props coverage
• More competitively priced odds
• Better customer retention offers
• Stronger brand visibility

Bally’s does have experience with Rhode Island, as it owns the only two landbased casinos in the state: Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort and the Tiverton Casino & Hotel. A lot of the infrastructure and market knowledge is already there, so the expansion should go smoothly. But this is far from a goldmine for the casino corporation – unlike Bally’s brand new commercial casino in downstate New York that is currently undergoing construction. No, the Rhode Island betting scene is tightly regulated and it doesn’t look like it will be opening any further following the arrival of Bally’s.

Similar States to Rhode Island

While the majority of the 39 states with legal sports betting in the US have open or semi open markets, there are a handful that are so restricted that they cannot even be compared with those giants. Think of states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Michigan and Indiana, all of which have lots of regulated sportsbooks, and command huge revenue. On the other end of the spectrum, there are the states with sports betting monopolies, or state-selected operators only, seriously limiting the options for sports bettors.

In the Northeast alone, you get it in:

• Maine: 2 legal books (tribal controlled market)
• Vermont: 3 legal books (state-selected)
• Connecticut: 3 legal books (tribal compacts)
• Delaware: 1 legal book (lottery-controlled)
• New Hampshire: 1 legal book (DraftKings exclusive contract)

Across the rest of the US, you have the likes of Oregon (1), Arkansas (2), and the District of Columbia (3). Florida (1) falls into a special category, as legal sports betting has been launched and rescinded, but currently, the Seminole Tribe operates with exclusive rights on a fixed term contract. There are also states where sports betting is legal but mobile betting isn’t. Mostly recently, Wisconsin was one of these until it became the 33rd state to launch online sportsbooks.

Where the Conflicts Lie

The reason for these paradoxes mainly boils down to who should regulate online sports betting and how it should be taxed. In most cases, the solution is to create an official gambling commission or control board to supervise the sportsbooks and uphold the law.

Some states use already existing establishments such as horse racing authorities or departments of finance. But in these sports betting states with restricted access (for operators), the most likely regulators are the state lottery providers or the tribal nations of the state.

• Open/Semi Open: Gambling Control Board, Gaming Commission, Casino Control Boards, Horse Racing Authorities
• Restricted: Finance Ministry, Government Departments, State Lotteries, Tribal Compacts

Bear in mind, this is just generally speaking, there may be some exemptions.

The next question is, who is responsible for handling the tax. These are either collected by the state lottery, the state gaming authorities, or the tribal nations through a revenue-sharing agreement.

Further Complications

To make the situation even more complex, the licensing frameworks can also vary heavily in semi open and open markets. Most commonly, they either go for tethered or untethered licenses. With tethered states, sportsbooks must partner with an established party to gain market access. Different states have their own rules on which parties are eligible for this, but generally these involve tribal operators, landbased casinos, racetracks, and even potentially major sports franchises/stadiums.

In an untethered scenario, sportsbooks can apply for a license directly to the gambling authority, like the control board, ministry of finance, gaming commission, and so on. This is the method used in most countries outside the US, as it allows for a larger pool of operators to join the scene. Plus, in tethered states the tethered party is usually the one carrying the license and responsible for the sportsbook keeping compliant. It can create power struggles and strained relationships within the ecosystem, aspects that the overall gambling regulator doesn’t really have much of a part in.

Why Some States Have Fewer Betting Operators

Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Delaware, Oregon, and the other very restrictive legal sports betting states, are by no means alone in their predicament. The decision to create a tighter and more controlled legal betting environment comes from a place of caution. Instead of allowing bigger brands to come in and soak up the market, these states choose to place a firm grip on the reins and keep the market as closely regulated as possible.

It makes enforcing compliance and spreading safer gambling messages a lot more straightforward for the state authorities. But another reason some states do this is that they have tribal nations, and want to create a system that doesn’t hurt their revenue, all while staying within the state’s legal purview. They allow the tribes to run the online sports betting industry, potentially even partnering with a bigger brand if they can squeeze a good deal out of that brand. Then, a revenue sharing model helps give the tribes their economic lifeline, whilst giving the state a cut of the action.

This doesn’t just go for sports betting either. Recently, Maine launched legal iGaming, but on the condition that it is strictly controlled by Maine’s tribal nations. Or, take a look at Florida where the Seminole Tribe runs the sports betting through their compact, which lasts for 30 years until July 2051.

What This Means for Rhode Island

Rhode Island came under pressure recently from industry leaders for holding onto its monopoly, which will expire in November of this year. But perhaps the more palpable reason for a change was the slow drop in revenue that Sportsbook Rhode Island experienced. Many bettors complained about the lack of promotions, the relatively conservative betting markets, and little to no creativity in the offerings at Sportsbook Rhode Island. That, combined with the fact that the state was losing revenue to migrating bettors, who would cross over into the neighboring Massachusetts or Connecticut (while it only has 3 legal books, these are: DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics – top tier US betting brands).

The state’s betting handle was down 30% year on year in March 2026, and to mitigate – or reverse – the decline, the choice seems to be exploring an expansion. It is an interesting gamble for Rhode Island, but perhaps a better lesson to restricted legal betting states – and all the currently non-legal betting states considering passing bills.

Monopolies and tribal compacts really hurt the experience for customers. With trends nowadays such as microbetting, value betting, and innovative gamified rewards or creative new sports betting verticals, the onus is on state authorities to think forward. If bettors don’t like the sportsbooks in their state, they have shown that they are willing to cross borders for better options, potentially explore alternatives like social sportsbooks or DFS, or – and this would particularly rub salt in state authorities’ wounds – pick the legally contentious prediction markets to place their bets.