Dominick Ruggerio sponsors HB 8097 and SB 2919 in an attempt to remove the in-person registration requirement. 2020: Sportsbook Rhode Island receives a makeover during the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes online betting easier.Amazingly, this also happened in 2019, when the Brady-led New England Patriots cost Rhode Island $2.35 million by beating the LA Rams. “You will have games that you win on and games that you lose on in the sports book.” The state paid out more than $1 million in wagers on the underdog Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “This is an occurrence in sports betting,” said Mark Furcolo, Director of the Rhode Island State Lottery Commission. Revenue for the month of February decreased by 35%. 2021: Super Bowl 55 reveals that Rhode Island’s sportsbooks biggest liability might be Tom Brady.One sad note: Tom Brady came out of retirement to haunt Rhode Island sportsbooks once again. Handles continue to be high – their second highest handle of all time happened in Jan 2021 – and while revenue does tend to dip in non-NFL months, it’s nothing that Rhode Island isn’t used to by now. 2022: The status quo in Rhode Island remains the same, as the state is content to keep their sportsbook operations at the level they are at for the near future at least.
