Legal Rhode Island Betting Sites

Each of the following RI sports betting sites is permitted to offer real money wagers to state residents. Legal online betting options in Rhode Island include a lottery-run sports betting site and mobile app, fantasy sports sites, and horse racing betting.

21+ and present in Rhode Island. Please play responsibly. If you or someone you know may have a gambling problem, call the problem Gambling Helpline, 1-877-9GAMBLE, sponsored by the Rhode Island Lottery. Available 24 hours a day to listen, to help, and provide information.

Rhode Island Sports Betting Apps

Online sports betting is legal in Rhode Island due to legislation signed into law by Governor Raimondo in March 2019.

The Rhode Island Lottery is partnered with IGT and William Hill to offer online sports betting through one state-authorized provider:

• Sportsbook RI is the only online sportsbook that is legal and regulated in Rhode Island.

Sports fans 18 or older and located within state lines may register for an account by visiting SportsBetRI.com or downloading the app for iOS or Android.

Customers may now register remotely from anywhere inside Rhode Island and do not need to be residents to participate.

The law previously required customers to visit a Rhode Island casino to complete registration in person, but the 2020 coronavirus pandemic prompted lawmakers to pass SB 2919 and HB 8097 which ended the in-person registration requirement.

Rhode Island Sports Betting Bonuses

Rhode Island bettors have limited access to sports betting bonuses and promotions.

The decision to give the Rhode Island Lottery a monopoly over sports betting has predictably resulted in a less consumer-friendly landscape than other states with competitive markets.

However, that does not mean bettors looking for promotions won’t find any sports betting bonuses.

Rhode Island bettors can claim signup bonuses at daily fantasy sports sites that offer valuable welcome bonuses and an experience similar to sports betting.

Rhode Island Sports Betting Locations

Rhode Island’s two casinos now have fully-functional retail sportsbook locations open for business:

How Rhode Island Legalized Sports Betting

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo and state lawmakers began the process of legalizing sports betting in Rhode Island through a budgetary measure proposed in 2018.

The 2019 state budget unveiled in January of 2018 included a surprise: the budget included $23.5 million in new tax revenue collected from sports betting, raising a few eyebrows because sports betting wasn’t legal in Rhode Island at the time.

Turns out, Governor Raimondo was banking on a piece of legislation introduced by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio.

proposed authorizing state-operated sports wagering at the Twin River and Tiverton facilities if federal legislation or a court decision puts an end to the law prohibiting states such as Rhode Island from regulating sports betting.

The bill did not delve too deeply into the details of sports betting beyond naming the two casinos where it would take place and prohibiting wagers on Rhode Island college teams.

As far as other regulations and oversight go, the bill left those responsibilities with the Division of Lotteries.

However, the budget did establish some basic regulations such as:

• Establishing the Twin River casinos as the only locations authorized for sports betting
• Prohibiting bets placed on Rhode Island sports teams
• Requiring the state to pay an annual fee of $100,000 each to the cities of Lincoln and Tiverton as “compensation for serving as the host community for sports wagering”

The Rhode Island constitution requires voters to approve of any gambling expansion, but Ruggerio’s bill argued that sports betting was already approved by voters in a 2012 referendum asking if facilities in Lincoln and Tiverton should be allowed to offer gambling, including Class III gaming (which includes sports betting).

Voters approved the measure, allowing the state to authorize sports betting.

The Rhode Island legislature approved the fiscal 2019 budget complete with language to legalize sports betting. Governor Raimondo signed off on the budget in June of 2018 to formally legalize sports betting.

Rhode Island Online Sports Betting

After Rhode Island legalized retail sportsbooks at casinos, lawmakers turned their attention to online sports betting.

Senate President Dominick Ruggerio introduced online sports betting legislation in January 2019 via . The Senate approved the bill the following month, and it subsequently received approval in the House before being signed into law by Governor Raimondo that March.

The Rhode Island online sports betting law was somewhat limited in two key aspects.

For one, the two Twin River casinos were given a monopoly over mobile betting and already have agreements in place with longstanding B2B betting suppliers.

As a result, Rhode Island bettors missed out on the opportunity to bet with major operators like DraftKings and FanDuel.

Secondly, the law originally required in-person registration.

Rhode Island sports bettors wanting to bet online were required to visit one of the two casinos in-person to sign up for an account before being able to place sports bets online from anywhere in the state.

However, lawmakers passed new legislation in 2020 to amend the law and permit remote registration.

Rhode Island Daily Fantasy Sports

Rhode Island has yet to pass legislation addressing daily fantasy sports apps, but popular DFS sites are readily available to residents 18 and above.

The Rhode Island fantasy sports market is served by multiple operators featuring DFS leagues, pick’em contests, and other game types. Although state law is unclear on the legality of DFS, local regulators have never told active fantasy sports platforms to exit the market.

Read more about fantasy sports in Rhode Island and see our recommended DFS platforms below:

• Rhode Island Daily Fantasy Sports

Rhode Island Horse Racing Betting

The Rhode Island horse racing industry is all but dead today with no active race tracks. However, both casinos offer fully functional racebooks with simulcasting wagering, and leading online horse racing betting sites are available to bettors in Rhode Island.

As far as live racing goes, Rhode Islanders will have to make a trip out of state to watch and wager in person.

Narragansett Park opened in 1934 and once operated as the racetrack in the country. Lincoln Downs opened in 1947 to further expand the state’s horse racing options, but both tracks would run their last horse races in the 1970s.

Today, in-person wagering is limited to the racebooks at each of the two Rhode Island casinos:

• Bally’s Tiverton Racebook (possibly closed)

Rhode Island Online Horse Racing Betting

Rhode Island horse racing betting sites also offer mobile horse betting apps to customers across the state.

Rhode Island law does not explicitly authorize advance deposit wagering, but ADW operators operate normally.

Rhode Island Online Gambling

Other forms of legal online gambling in Rhode Island include online casinos, poker sites, and lottery games. The Rhode Island Lottery and legal gambling sites are now live, but online poker is likely much further away.

Rhode Island Online Casinos

Online gambling is legal in Rhode Island thanks to legislation approved in June 2023.

The law authorized the Rhode Island Lottery and Bally’s Corporation to partner on a casino platform that has a monopoly over online gambling in Rhode Island.

Authorized game types include online slots and live dealer table games, which are open to customers 21 or older and physically located within state lines.

• Rhode Island Online Casinos

Rhode Island Online Poker

When Rhode Island legalized online gambling in 2023, it also authorized online poker for players 21 and older.

The law also granted Rhode Island the right to enter multi-state gaming compacts (think MSIGA) to share tables and player pools with licensed poker sites in other states.

If a poker site launches in Rhode Island, the ability to share players across state lines will be critical to its success in a state with a limited population.

However, players should manage their expectations because Bally’s has a monopoly over online gambling in Rhode Island, and it does not offer online poker in any other state.

Weighing poker (a low-margin and high-maintenance business) against online gambling (a high-margin and low-maintenance business), it seems unlikely poker will be high on Bally’s priority list.

Rhode Island Online Lottery

The Rhode Island Lottery took its games online in early 2020 with the launch of iLottery. Players 18 and older can download the official RI Online Lottery app to play games online or visit RILot.com to sign up for an account.

Currently, Rhode Island iLottery offers instant win games and keno in the same formats offered in-person at retailers.

Rhode Island Sports Betting FAQ