Legal Sports Betting Brief: WNBA, SailGP, Rhode Island, Ohio

• The WNBA is seeing a 50% drop in viewership as well as betting handle without Caitlin Clark playing due to injury.
• Connecting through partnerships with legal sportsbooks, sailing is seeing increased action and interest.
• Ohio sports betting kiosks are set to go offline after they failed to make money in 2023 and represent less than 1% of all betting action in the state.
• Rhode Island is attempting to add more options for sports betting once its IGT monopoly contract runs out in 2026.

INDIANAPOLIS – While the legislative calendar has ended for most states, there is still regulatory action happening across the US sports betting industry. From a decrease in WNBA action to Ohio looking to remove sportsbook kiosks from bars, grocery stores, and restaurants, here is the latest sports betting news in the US this week.

WNBA Betting Handle Dips as Sailing Rises

Interest in WNBA betting without its brightest star, Caitlin Clark, is waning, while the sailing circuit SailGP moves ahead with fresh betting appeal.

Clark’s injury has led to a significant drop (nearly 50%) in Indiana Fever bets, underscoring how heavily WNBA wagering depends on marquee players to drive engagement and revenue.

Meanwhile, SailGP is capitalizing on untapped potential, launching partnerships with DraftKings and bet365 to offer live betting on high-speed, tech-driven catamaran races. Attracting a younger, more diverse audience, it’s challenging sailing’s traditional image of an elite pastime.

As the WNBA struggles to maintain momentum beyond star power, SailGP’s innovative integration highlights how niche sports can harness technology and fresh fan experiences to carve new legal sports betting markets.

Lotteries Losing Control of Sports Betting

Contrasting challenges for Ohio’s and Rhode Island’s lotteries are showing a shift in industry dynamics.

Just two years after its launch, Ohio’s Type-C sports betting kiosks face near-total extinction. The largest vendor, Intralot’s Sports Bet Ohio, will shut down 93% of kiosk locations by June 22, taking 656 kiosks offline.

The self-service kiosks never gained traction, losing to the Ohio sportsbooks that are online due to convenience and variety. With wagers through kiosks accounting for less than 0.2% of Ohio’s total betting market, the kiosks failed to deliver expected revenue or foot traffic for bars, restaurants, and grocery stores.

This collapse has sparked calls from industry groups to pivot toward legalized Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs), which could better support small businesses with fast, simple gaming and generate millions in new tax revenue.

Meanwhile, Rhode Island’s state lottery seeks to revitalize and expand its online sports betting market, which has been monopolized by International Game Technology (IGT) since 2018.

Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone is leading a push to open the market to multiple vendors, including legal online sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel, starting after IGT’s contract expires in 2026.

The Rhode Island sports betting legislation also includes tougher penalties for enabling underage online gambling, aiming to safeguard the burgeoning iGaming sector legalized last year. Rhode Island lawmakers view expansion as essential to staying competitive and growing lottery revenues.

News tags: bet365 | Caitlin Clark | DraftKings | Frank Ciccone | iGaming | IGT | Indiana Fever | Intralot | Ohio | Rhode Island | SailGP | Sailing | VLTs | WNBA