Better late than never!
As the smallest state in the country, Rhode Island became the eighth state to have sports betting yesterday, and NETG paid a visit to Twin River Casino & Hotel you get a first hand look.
If you would like to read about the Twin River Hotel review by our RI correspondent Miguel, go to
Twin River Casino’s New Hotel – NETG In-depth Review
Like horses at the starting gate, a huge line had formed and excitement built until at 3:00pm EST when Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, Senate President Dominic Ruggerio and John Taylor, executive chairman of Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc., placed the first bets, marking the opening of the Twin River Casino sports wagering.
Now, if you’re thinking Vegas sports books the likes of Caesars or Westgate, think again. It’s more like Golden Gate downtown.
Tiverton, TRMG’s other RI casino is projected to go live with a sports book sometime next month. The Tiverton Casino sports book / pari-mutuel betting is very small.
The racebook at Tiverton has 10 seats.
So they could started ASAP and get ahead of other New England casinos, TR’s setup is temporary, called “Phase 1″ and is found in the third floor in the simulcast wagering area. Staff told NETG that this “Phase 1” area will be kept even after the main sports book is completed.
Wagering is still on the casino property, with online bets slated for the future. The next phase will be completion of the real sports book area overlooking the grassy remains of the greyhound track.
According to Jeff Moony, Staff Writer at the Providence Journal, “Rhode Island will be poised to go online whenever lawmakers are ready. IGT and William Hill power Rhode Island sports wagering. IGT is behind the computer technology, while William Hill is setting the lines.”
A Few Points
- The State of Rhode Island takes 51% of the sports betting revenue at the start
- 32% goes to IGT as vendor operations
- Only 17% of the revenue generated by sports betting goes to Twin River.
- A Sports Betting Lounge at TR is expected to open in December with dozens of television screens
- Bets are now allowed on pro sports and college games, but Rhode Island colleges are not available for wagering.
- Only pre-game betting is available. In-game betting will be only be ready when the mobile on-line wagering is in place, and that could be for quite a while.
- Connecticut has approved sports betting, but won’t start implementation until the next legislative session
- Massachusetts will consider sports betting next year. Data collection by the legislature and Massachusetts Gaming Commission may cause long delay.
Lines continued to form.Here at 8:00pm.
On your mark, get set, ………BET!
Binbin
MGM Springfield Opens to 150,000 people 
Rhode Island has two state-licensed casinos: the Tiverton Casino Hotel, which opened Sep 1, 2018 in Tiverton, and the Twin River Casino in Lincoln. Both are owned and managed by the Twin River Management Group, Inc. The former Newport Grand Slots in Newport, RI was closed Aug 28, 2018 and its slots license was transferred to the Tiverton Casino.
