Rhode Island Sports Betting Handle Surges By 231.5% For July

• Rhode Island sports betting revenue is on the upswing as July figures from the Rhode Island Lottery have been released.
• For the month of July, the Ocean State took in $6,738,626 in handle and $351,425 in revenue on sports wagering.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Rhode Island sports betting industry has done a 180 by tripling their month to month handle by 231.5%.

The Rhode Island Lottery released its most recent revenue report figures showing that business went from wagers totaling $2,032,803 in June to $6,738,626 for July.

However, the number of sporting events from a year-to-year basis is drastically different which could be the leading cause in the drop.

Causes For The Spike

There were a few contributing factors for the jump in Rhode Island’s sports wagering market. July started with the return of major sports after months of being on hiatus from the Coronavirus Pandemic.

This allowed sportsbooks to begin offering bets on more events than they’ve been able to offer sports bettors in nearly half a year.

The land-based sportsbooks of Rhode Island reopened on July 22 and managed to take in 33.6% of the month’s handle within those nine days of the month that they were operational.

Not only did sports come back and land-based venues reopen but it was also a big month in the Ocean State for the landscape of their sports wagering industry.

Per state law, gamblers that wanted to use mobile sportsbooks needed to first sign up for an account in person to do so. When the outbreak of COVID-19 shutdown casinos, those that did not yet have a membership were unable to get one as they couldn’t sign up in person.

Lawmakers took notice of this and acted to remedy the issue in order to gain some sort of revenue during the pandemic.

The same day that the sportsbook venues reopened, Governor Gina Raimondo signed House Bill 8097 and Senate Bill 2919 that would do away with the need for in-person registration.

Rhode Islanders can now sign up for mobile sports betting accounts from home or wherever they are without the need to venture to an establishment first. Mobile sports wagering handle for July was up by 109.5% from June bringing in $4.403 million of the $6,738,626 for the month.

The Luck Of The Rhode Island Sports Bettor

Although Rhode Island significantly increased their handle in July, the revenue from both retail and mobile applications saw a combined total of $351,425. Sports bettors in the state were on a hot streak for the month and were paid out accordingly.

The revenue was still up from June which saw $101,328, but very much a decrease from a year-on-year basis as July 2019 saw sports betting revenue of $827,579.

With a promising outlook and football season up ahead, Rhode Island sports betting can expect to continue their upswing in both handle and revenue from the industry.

News tags: Coronavirus pandemic | COVID-19 | Gina Raimondo | House Bill 8097 | Rhode Island | Rhode Island Lottery | Senate Bill 2919