Rhode Island Online Gambling
The Rhode Island online gambling market is relatively extensive but has several peculiarities that distinguish it from the legal landscape in most states.
For instance, Rhode Island regulates online slots and live dealer table games but prohibits digital table games. Meanwhile, the minimum age to play casino games online in Rhode Island is 21, yet the state implements a minimum age of 18 to bet on sports and buy lottery tickets online.
Advance deposit wagering on horse races, daily fantasy sports, and sweepstakes casinos are also available but lack formal oversight. Read on for a clear overview of what’s legal in Rhode Island, what’s not, where to gamble online safely, and resources to play responsibly.
Legal Rhode Island Gambling Sites
21+ and present in Rhode Island. Please play responsibly. If you or someone you know may have a gambling problem, call the problem Gambling Helpline, 1-877-9GAMBLE, sponsored by the Rhode Island Lottery. Available 24 hours a day to listen, to help, and provide information.
Rhode Island Online Gambling Overview
| Type of Gambling (minimum age) | Legal Status | Notes |
| Online Casinos (21+) | Legal/Regulated | Online slots and live dealer table games legal under RI Gen L § 42-61.2-3.4 |
| Sweepstakes Casinos (18+) | Legal/Unregulated | Operates in a legal gray area under sweepstakes laws. |
| Online Poker (21+) | Legal/Unavailable | Legal but impractical (live dealer requirement); no licensed operators |
| Online Sports Betting (18+) | Legal/Regulated | Legal under RI Gen L § 42-61.2-3.3; Sportsbook RI holds monopoly |
| Daily Fantasy Sports (18+) | Legal/Unregulated | Deemed skill-based per 2016 AG opinion; no specific statute. |
| Fantasy Pick ’em Contests (18+) | Legal/Unregulated | Treated the same as DFS; no regulatory actions to date. |
| Online Lottery Sales (18+) | Legal/Regulated | Official RI Lottery app offers online instant win games and keno. |
| Online Horse Racing (18+) | Legal/Unregulated | State law does not address online wagering; major ADWs active in RI |
Rhode Island Online Casinos
Online casinos are legal and regulated in Rhode Island.
To be more precise, Rhode Island legalized one online casino in 2023 when the legislature approved SB 948.
Quick-Start Overview for Players
Here’s what you need to know to gamble online in Rhode Island:
- Where to Play: Bally Bet Casino is the only legal online casino in RI
- Minimum Age: 21
- Game Types: Online slots and live dealer table games only
- Location: Must be within Rhode Island to place wagers
- Identity Verification: New players must provide their names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and SSNs to comply with federal Know Your Customer (KYC) laws.
Only One Online Casino Authorized
SB 948 established a single-operator monopoly model run as a partnership between the Rhode Island Lottery and Bally’s Corporation, which owns the state’s two land-based casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton.
As a result, Bally Casino is the sole online casino authorized in Rhode Island.
Lawmakers chose a single-operator model to maximize state oversight and tax revenue, but players lack the benefits that an open market with multiple brands would have provided: more choice, competitive casino bonuses, and wider game selection.
Online Slots and Live Dealer Table Games Only
Unlike every other state with legal online casinos, Rhode Island law only authorizes online slots and live dealer table games.
That means Bally Casino RI may only offer table games conducted with live dealers. Purely digital table games based on random number generators (RNGs) are prohibited.
The “live dealer only” rule was a matter of necessity rather than preference. During legislative discussions, the RI Lottery contended that authorizing online table games would constitute a gambling expansion, which would require a statewide voter referendum under the Rhode Island constitution.
To circumvent the referendum requirement, lawmakers crafted the bill to define “iGaming” as an extension of the gambling already approved by voters at the physical casinos.
Out-of-State Players Authorized
In 2025, lawmakers passed HB 6388 / SB 1017, authorizing Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and Tiverton casinos to stream live dealer table games to “external jurisdictions” if permitted by law.
For example, both Bally’s locations could stream live dealer blackjack games for players in another state if permitted in that state. However, Bally’s Corporation has not yet reached agreements with operators or received regulatory approval in any jurisdiction outside Rhode Island to offer cross-state live dealer games.
For now, the law only clears the way for potential agreements in the future.
Rhode Island Sweepstakes Casinos
Sweepstakes casinos are legal but unregulated in Rhode Island.
Prominent sweepstakes casinos like WOW Vegas, Mega Bonanza, and McLuck Social Casino operate on “no purchase necessary” models to avoid classification as online gambling under Rhode Island law.
Although they don’t require purchases to participate, online sweepstakes casinos offer extensive selections of casino-style games that award virtual currencies redeemable for cash prizes.
Typically, players can claim free “Sweeps Coins” by participating in promotions or as bonuses when buying Gold Coins. Players can wager their Sweeps Coins on casino-style games that pay additional Sweeps Coins as winnings. In most cases, players can redeem Sweeps Coins for cash prizes at a 1 SC:1 USD ratio.
Legal Considerations
Rhode Island law does not address sweepstakes casinos; they are neither explicitly authorized nor prohibited.
Sweepstakes casinos are legal by default as a result, but players should keep the following points in mind:
- Sweepstakes casinos are unregulated in Rhode Island. They’re subject to general consumer protection regulations, but not to the same extent as licensed online casinos.
- Rhode Island does not provide regulatory oversight to ensure compliance with consumer protection laws or resolve disputes.
- Unlike some other states, Rhode Island has not targeted sweepstakes casinos with enforcement actions like cease-and-desist orders.
- The state’s stance on sweepstakes casinos could change, especially since Rhode Island has an incentive to protect the tax revenue generated by its one state-authorized online casino.
Rhode Island Online Poker
Online poker is legal but unavailable in Rhode Island. Sweepstakes poker sites will remain the only viable alternative absent significant legislative changes.
The law that authorized online casinos in Rhode Island also permits online poker in theory, but it’s practically impossible to implement for several reasons.
Why Online Poker is Unlikely Anytime Soon
Rhode Island law requires all online table games to be conducted with live (human) dealers. That’s no problem for games like live dealer blackjack and online roulette, but it would make online poker logistically and financially unworkable in Rhode Island.
The occasional online poker tournament staffed by live dealers is within reason, but that wouldn’t scale to provide the liquidity required to run an always-on poker site with 24/7 cash games and tournaments.
The live dealer requirement, combined with the state’s small population, creates an additional barrier: access to a player base capable of sustaining a viable poker economy.
Online poker requires liquidity, but the live dealer requirement precludes any Rhode Island poker site from joining interstate poker compacts to offer shared player pools. Additionally, Bally’s Corporation does not offer real-money online poker in any other state.
Without a large player base, a standalone poker site in a small state is not commercially viable, especially when subject to Rhode Island’s high tax rates on gaming revenue.
Rhode Island Online Sports Betting
Online sports betting is legal and regulated in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island’s online sports betting market differs from most in two aspects:
- Individuals must be 18+ to bet online in Rhode Island, compared to 21+ in most states
- Sportsbook Rhode Island is the state’s only licensed operator, in contrast to the competitive open-market model implemented in most states
Rhode Island’s single-app model was one of the first to launch in the US following the 2018 repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).
Retail sportsbooks opened at Rhode Island’s two casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton in November 2018 after Governor Gina Raimondo signed a budget bill that included measures authorizing in-person sports betting.
Lawmakers passed SB 37 in March 2019 to authorize online sports betting and establish a single-operator market controlled by the Rhode Island Lottery in partnership with IGT and Bally’s Corporation.
Interestingly, the bill aimed to encourage responsible gambling by prohibiting the use of credit cards to fund online betting accounts, even while establishing a lower minimum participation age (18+) than in most states (21+).
How Sportsbook Rhode Island Compares to Options Elsewhere
Rhode Island’s monopoly approach has received criticism for stifling competition and limiting bettors’ choices.
Unlike in neighboring Massachusetts, where numerous online sportsbooks compete for customers with promotions and varied betting lines, Rhode Island bettors have only one option.
Furthermore, that one option (Sportsbook RI) lacks a customer loyalty program, provides fewer payment methods, and upgrades its app less frequently than the major online sportsbooks available in states with competitive markets.
Will Rhode Island Authorize Additional Online Sportsbooks?
In March 2025, lawmakers introduced SB 748 to open the market to competition by authorizing two to five additional online sportsbooks.
Proponents of the bill argued that a competitive market would:
- Improve the customer experience
- Increase revenue to the state.
A Spectrum Gaming Group study (full report here) commissioned by the Rhode Island Lottery also recommended introducing four to six additional licenses to encourage competition, improve the customer experience, and increase tax revenue to the state.
However, opponents emphasized the current model’s ability to generate significant tax revenue. They also argue that authorizing additional operators:
- Doesn’t guarantee increased revenue, particularly if Rhode Island has to lower its 51% tax rate to make the market attractive to additional operators
- Will stress the Lottery’s current oversight capabilities and increase the cost of compliance monitoring and enforcement
SB 748 passed a full Senate vote by a wide margin in early June 2025 but stalled in the House. In a statement, House Speaker Shekarchi explained:
“There is no need to adopt legislation this year because the state is under contract with the current vendor for another year.”
In the meantime, the Rhode Island Lottery has stated that it will implement one of Spectrum Gaming’s recommendations: issue a Request for Information (RFI) in early 2026 to gauge interest from potential sportsbook operators once IGT’s contract nears its end.
Rhode Island Daily Fantasy Sports
Daily fantasy sports contests are legal but unregulated in Rhode Island.
All prominent DFS apps operate in Rhode Island based on a favorable legal opinion issued years ago, but the state does not license, regulate, or tax operators.
In 2016, then-Attorney General Peter Kilmartin issued a formal opinion concluding that daily fantasy sports contests are games of skill and exempt from Rhode Island gambling laws. Kilmartin also advised the legislature to pass legislation to regulate and tax DFS contests.
However, the Rhode Island Lottery subsequently issued a contradictory opinion. The Lottery asserted that DFS does meet the state’s definition of illegal gambling and that any attempt to regulate it would be a constitutional expansion of gambling requiring a statewide voter referendum.
The contradictory opinions established Rhode Island’s current daily fantasy sports landscape: The AG opinion provides enough legal basis for DFS apps to operate in Rhode Island, but the state lottery’s staunch opposition has prevented any DFS-related bills from advancing.
Fantasy Pick ’em Contests in Rhode Island
Fantasy pick ’em contests operate under the same legal status as standard DFS games: widely available and unregulated.
All major fantasy pick ’em apps operate in Rhode Island and offer contests in which players predict whether or not individual athletes will exceed their projected totals in stats like strikeouts, passing yards, and free throws.
Recommended fantasy pick ’em apps in Rhode Island:
Regulators in some states have banned fantasy pick ’em contests due to their similarity to sports betting props, but that has not occurred in Rhode Island. In fact, fantasy pick ’em apps serve as a viable alternative for fans not content with Sportsbook Rhode Island, the state’s only authorized online sportsbook.
However, their long-term legal status remains uncertain because the 2016 Attorney General opinion that provides legal standing for DFS did not specifically analyze the fantasy pick ’em format.
Rhode Island Online Lottery
The Rhode Island Lottery offers online sales through its official mobile app and website.
However, the selection is limited compared to some other states’ online lottery programs. Purchase options include online keno and eInstants (digital scratch cards), but not individual tickets to draw games like Powerball and Mega Millions.
Rhode Island Lottery’s eInstant games are available at prices ranging from $0.50 to $20 and offer either progressive jackpots or fixed jackpots worth up to $250,000. Meanwhile, its online Keno games run every four minutes and offer top jackpots of $1,000,000.
Players 18+ can play the Lottery online from anywhere in Rhode Island after registering for a free “VIP Plus” account, which includes additional identity verification steps.
Online Horse Racing Betting in Rhode Island
Advance deposit wagering is legal but unregulated in Rhode Island.
State law does not address advance deposit wagering apps (ADWs), but all prominent online horse racing betting platforms are available in Rhode Island for users 18 and older.
The most recognized ADWs available in Rhode Island include:
Rhode Island Gambling Regulators
- Rhode Island Division of Lottery: Operates state lottery games, regulates and operates online sports wagering and iGaming, approves vendors and game portfolios, and enforces geolocation and age controls.
- Department of Business Regulation: Licenses and oversees gaming facility personnel, simulcast wagering, and certain racing‑related permits; enforces related commercial licensing rules.
- Rhode Island State Police – Charitable Gaming Unit: Manages the licensing and oversight of all charitable gaming activities. This includes games like bingo and raffles when conducted by registered non-profit organizations.
Responsible Gambling Resources in Rhode Island
Rhode Island provides resources for responsible gambling, including education and support funded by gaming revenue. A statewide self-exclusion program is available for Rhode Island’s casinos, iGaming, online sports betting, and online Lottery.
Self-Exclusion Resources
- iLottery Self‑Exclusion & Time‑Out: Available within your Lottery online account settings; assistance via Player Support at 1‑800‑288‑2485.
- Online Casino and Sports Betting Self-Exclusion: Self‑exclusion form available online to submit via mail or to deliver in person at Twin River Lincoln and Tiverton; self-exclusion covers both land-based casinos, online gambling, and online sports betting.
- RICPG Self-Exclusion Resource: The Rhode Island Council on Problem Gambling offers a comprehensive self-exclusion hub with instructions and detailed explanations of how to exclude from all forms of in-person and online gambling in Rhode Island and surrounding states.
Responsible Gambling Organizations
- Problem Gambling Services of Rhode Island (PGSRI): The state’s central hub for treatment and support. It offers confidential assessments, referrals, and treatment services that are free for those who are uninsured or underinsured. Call or text the problem gambling helpline 24/7 at 401-499-2472.
- Rhode Island Council on Problem Gambling (RICPG): A non-profit organization focused on advocacy, education, and prevention. Call 1-800-GAMBLER for support 24/7.