According to reports, sports betting at Rhode Island’s Twin River Casino is on track to launch later this month.
Patti Doyle, a spokeswoman for the Twin River Casino, told Legal Sports Report: “Sports betting at Twin River will begin around Thanksgiving.”
Sports betting at the Tiverton Hotel and Casino is expected to launch shortly after the Twin River sportsbook launches.
According to Legal Sports Report the sportsbook at Twin River will be built in phases with phase one being built on the property’s third floor.
The next phase of the sportsbooks launch will be located on the second floor of the property and is expected to launch in December.
Doyle added: “It will have more screens, seating and just a different feel than the third floor.”
Although Rhode Island was one of the first states to legalize sports betting it has taken a while to get the ball rolling.
Sports betting legislation in Rhode Island was introduced by Governor Gina Raimondo, who included sports betting revenue in her budget earlier this year.
Bill S 2045 was signed into law on 22 June 2018, legalizing Rhode Island sports betting, just days after the Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).
The Rhode Island state lottery will be responsible for operating sports betting alongside William Hill and International Gaming Technology (IGT).
William Hill will be responsible for providing odds while IGT will be responsible for launching the sportsbook platforms.
The three companies expected to launch sports betting operations in October but in August they pushed the date back to November.
Rhode Island casinos will only hold onto 17% of revenue while IGT will receive 32% and Rhode Island will receive 51% of sports betting revenue in the form of taxation and licensing costs.
The state’s Department of Revenue expects sports betting to generate revenues of $23.5m for the current financial year which will end on 30 June 2019.
