The Rhode Island Lottery and IGT are keeping the sports betting partnership going. The lottery renewed its deal with IGT for another three years. The two first partnered together when the state first launched sports betting in 2019. Per the current partnership, IGT keeps 32% of revenue, the state gets 51%, and the remaining 17% goes to Bally’s, which operates Twin River Casino.
“The Rhode Island Lottery championed sports betting in 2018 as one of the early adopters in the post-PASPA era, and IGT is excited to continue driving Rhode Island’s sports betting growth,” said Joe Asher, IGT President of Sports Betting. “Rhode Island is home to very loyal sports fans who love following their New England-based teams. The enhancements IGT has made to the Lottery’s sports betting platform and app provide fans with a convenient and intuitive player experience and yield strong returns that support the Lottery’s commitment to generating revenue for good causes.”
“As one of the first U.S. lotteries to launch sports betting, Rhode Island Lottery is very pleased with the successful program we have built over the last five years, backed by IGT’s world-class technology and William Hill’s operator experience. IGT recently invested significant resources to enhance our sports betting platform and mobile app. These upgrades will enable us to maximize revenue and offer a solution that remains competitive among neighboring states in this dynamic, regional sports betting market,” added Rhode Island Lottery Director Mark Furcolo.
Furcolo lauded the partnership in the press release, however, the Providence Journal reported that the next three years could be an opportunity for the state to reevaluate how it approaches sports betting, particularly now that so many neighboring states have legalized online sports betting as well.
“The state has a valued and dependable partner in IGT,” Furcolo said. “Now that most New England states have sports betting operational, the extension affords the Lottery the time necessary to conduct a regional market assessment and economic analysis of the current sports betting operating model.”
Currently, the state only allows the one IGT-powered Sportsbook RI app to operate. The lottery model has brought in $375 million in online and retail handle so far this fiscal year (July – February) and generated $38.2 million in revenue. During FY2022, the state accepted $517 million in wagers and generated $39.7 million in revenue.
Neighboring Connecticut recently parted ways with its lottery sports betting partner, as Rush Street Interactive prematurely ended its contract. Unlike the single-operator model of Rhode Island though, Connecticut allows the two tribal operators to offer online casinos and online sportsbooks in addition to the lottery’s online sportsbook operator.
