Lincoln, Rhode Island Has Requested More Money From Local Sportsbook

• Tiverton and Lincoln are both granted a $100,000 contribution for hosting the state’s sportsbooks.
• The Town of Lincoln is looking to increase the annual fee to $200,000.
• Mobile betting in Rhode Island is expected to launch in the upcoming months.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – With the sports betting revenue in Rhode Island failing to meet expectations, the cities of Tiverton and Lincoln are still wondering about their raise for hosting the state’s two sportsbooks.

On Tuesday, the Lincoln Town Council approved Resolution 2019-13 which expresses their support of SB 382.

Sponsored by Senator Thomas Paolino (R- Lincoln) and filed two months ago, SB 382 would increase the annual flat fee given from the Tiverton Casino and Twin River Lincoln Casino to the cities of Tiverton and Lincoln, respectively, by $100,000.

The original measure allocated $100,000 to the cities for serving as the host communities for sports wagering, but SB 382 would increase the total fee to $200,000.

However, action has not been taken on this bill, as it currently sits in the Senate’s Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs Committee. The Lincoln Town Council has plans to send copies of their approved resolution to state representatives and Governor Gina Raimondo.

Their belief that the extra money should be allocated comes from the fact there has been “increased activity at Twin River Casino”, according to the resolution. The money is expected to fund the necessary costs it takes for the “public safety response from the town.”

The timing couldn’t have been worse for this measure due to the struggling profitability of the state’s current sports wagering market.

With mobile betting awaiting its launch date, sportsbooks are only taking in a fraction of the revenue they could potentially hit this summer and onward.

Removing an additional $100,000 from the sportsbooks would seriously impact the book’s revenue.

In Tiverton Casino’s first three months, the book has made $16,518 in revenue. Their first month of operation (December) contributed to $123,250 in revenue for the casino; however, January saw negative earnings and February profited only $17,641.

Twin River is more capable of affording the added fee, as their handle and revenue far surpass that of Tiverton. However, the instability of sports wagering can never give that guarantee.

Eclipsing $1 million in revenue for their first two months alone, the book immediately turned the majority of that money back over to the gamblers. February reported negative earnings of $908,264, which has left the casino with only $283,747 in sports betting revenue from their first three months (and one week in November) of operation.

In March, Governor Raimondo signed the mobile sports betting bill into law and expectations have Rhode Island residents wagering from their devices in a few weeks or months. With the expansion into the online market and the addition of self-service kiosks about the casinos, the sportsbooks are hoping they can gather enough revenue to pay off the increased fee, should the measure pass.

SB 382 remains without a timeline for discussion.

News tags: Rhode Island | Rhode Island sports betting | RI SB 382