Online Casino Could be Included in Rhode Island’s Future Plans

Officials in Rhode Island are looking at a few unique options to sort out their budgetary issues. One such idea involves legalizing online casinos, which would greatly change the way the current gambling revenue system functions.

Revenue sourced by the RI Lottery Commission has been gradually slowing down, while other issues such as delayed projects and competition from Massachusetts have only made the overall revenue generation from gambling an even bigger challenge.

In early 2017, the lottery reported a noticeable reduction in revenue, a sure sign that Rhode Island’s revenue stream was not in good shape. The reduced figures weren’t just limited to specific categories. The trend was observed across the board.

In fact, the report caused a mild panic at the budget office since gaming happens to be a major revenue source for the state and also, one that boasted a fair bit of stability, until recently.

On the horizon…

The question of online gambling legalization is a big one and the answer to that lies with the landmark Christie v. NCAA case, which is currently being presided over by the US Supreme Court. Parties on all sides remain anxious as to what decision the court will make regarding the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992.

If the law is declared unconstitutional, online gambling across the country will receive the “get-go”. This very much applies to Rhode Island as well. The decision by the Supreme Court is likely to come out in early 2018. The impact If things go as hoped, it may not work out well for all sides. Legalization will have a negative effect on the state’s current favorites such as Twin River. Twin River has already been facing several delays with regard to the development of its Tiverton unit.

Plus, it is set to face more competition from Massachusetts.

However, there might be more to gain than lose for the state as far as the current scenario is concerned. Lottery figures have been low for quite some time. Games like Mega Millions®, PowerBall®, Bingo, Wild Money, and Keno reported a drop of $9 million, bringing the figure to $155.6 million in 2017 from 2016’s $164.5 million.

A similar result was observed in the Instant Games category as well. The figure went down to $94.2 million in 2017 from $96.2 million in 2016.
The lottery also reported that its expenses had gone up by $3 million.