After a stalled legislative push to open up Rhode Island’s sports betting market to big-name operators in 2025, the Rhode Island Lottery will continue with International Game Technology (IGT) as its sports betting provider for the foreseeable future.
IGT announced on Jan. 7 that it has signed a two-year contract extension to continue powering Rhode Island’s statewide retail and mobile sports betting through at least November 2028.
IGT PlaySports technology has powered Sportsbook Rhode Island, the only authorized sports wagering platform in the state, since 2019 through its deal with the lottery. Via a separate contract, IGT is also the exclusive supplier of retail and online lottery services to the Rhode Island Lottery.
“IGT is very pleased to continue our long-term relationship with the Rhode Island Lottery through 2028 and help generate important revenue for the State through its sports betting operations powered by PlaySports technology,” said Bertolone of the new extension. “IGT PlaySports continues to invest in the Sportsbook Rhode Island app to ensure the Lottery is offering a premier betting product that makes a positive impact on the State’s commitments to good causes.”
Lawmakers’ effort to open up market fell short
Rhode Island runs a single-operator model for online sports betting which shuts out all of the biggest mobile sportsbooks, such as market-leading duo FanDuel and DraftKings. Caesars does offer some land-based sports betting through retail sportsbooks in the state. Meanwhile, Rhode Island is also the latest state to launch online casino gaming, opening a market in 2024 with Bally’s Corporation as the state’s exclusive provider.
State legislators pushed last year to end IGT’s sports betting exclusivity, filing a bill that would have ended the contract with IGT and welcomed at least five sportsbooks into the state to compete for market share and revenue. The state Senate passed an amended version of that bill that would have allowed the state to issue several licenses for online sportsbooks through a competitive bidding process, cutting the minimum number of licensees from five to three.
IGT and the state lottery pushed back against that proposal, suggesting that the fact that Rhode Island effectively taxes IGT at 51% means the state makes more money from sports wagering than several larger, multi-operator markets.
“The data strongly suggests that maintaining the current model is the most prudent course of action to safeguard and grow state revenues,” wrote IGT SVP of Sports Betting Joe Bertolone in Senate testimony submitted before the amendment. Lottery Director Mark Furcolo opined that the lottery should be allowed to continue to work with IGT if that is the best deal for the state.
The bill ultimately failed to progress in the House, leaving the status quo intact. Now, the lottery has re-upped with IGT for another two years, something some lawmakers opposed.
Plan still to add competitor sportsbook
However, according to the Rhode Island Current, the state still intends to add another sportsbook in the near future to compete with IGT’s Sportsbook Rhode Island.
Lottery spokesperson Paul Grimaldi told the Current that the lottery intends to award a contract to a company to begin offering online sports betting after November 2026. The lottery is reportedly accepting bids until Feb. 19, and the local news site said that Bally’s, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, Kambi and OpenBet are all exploring the idea.
