Rhode Island has become the seventh US state to legalise online casino after Governor Daniel McKee signed an igaming bill into law.
Through legislation introduced by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and Representative Gregory Costantino, exclusive rights to operate igaming in the state have been awarded to Bally’s.
Rhode Island’s online casino offering is essentially live casino, as existing table games at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln property will be streamed to players’ devices via a simulcast featuring a live dealer at the casino location.
“This legislation provides an added convenience to Rhode Islanders who would like to play the existing table games offered at Twin River via their mobile devices,” noted Ruggerio.
“It helps ensure the continued strength of the state facilities in the competitive regional gaming market, and in so doing protects an important revenue stream that provides funding for vital state programs and investments.”
Regulated by the state lottery, the igaming offering is only available to people playing in Rhode Island over the age of 21. Bally’s will also provide funding to help with responsible gambling education.
“The time has come for us to take this step and be competitive with our neighbours,” stated Costantino.
“I’m gratified that we were able to amend the original bill to restrict online table games to users over the age of 21 and that Bally’s has also agreed to provide additional resources to educate young people about problem gaming.“
Ruggerio added: “This is a focused version of igaming that is ready for passage and implementation. This igaming legislation is constitutional, is geared to mature users, contains education provisions for problem gamblers, and preserves the revenue allocation percentages as they are currently in place.”
Rhode Island now joins Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia as the only states in the US where online casino is legalised.
