Best Legal Rhode Island Sports Betting Apps + Sportsbooks In 2026

Legal Rhode Island sports betting launched officially in November 2018 after the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Since then, the two Rhode Island casinos – Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort and Bally’s Tiverton Casino & Hotel – host legal Rhode Island sports betting for all residents. They both offer legal sports betting via straight bets, live in-game betting, props, spreads, totals, futures bets, and parlays with excellent service from the attentive venue cashiers. However, Rhode Island sports betting sites are the primary way many bet. Betting lines for some of the biggest sporting events of the year, such as the Super Bowl or March Madness, are readily available at the best RI sportsbook apps 2026. To find the sports betting sites that accept Rhode Island players, continue reading our guide.

• Sports betting launched in Rhode Island in November 2018.
• Regulated sportsbooks are only available at the two commercial casinos.
• Legal sports betting sites allow for statewide mobile betting in Rhode Island.
• Licensed sportsbooks accepting RI players are available in and out of the state.

Is Bovada Legal In Rhode Island?

While Bovada is legal in Rhode Island, the online sportsbook does not currently accept players from the state. Bovada is still fully licensed and regulated overseas, but decided to pull out of the Rhode Island sports betting market at the end of 2025.

Rhode Island Sports Betting And Gambling Laws

There are numerous state laws regarding what is and what is not legal gambling in Rhode Island, and the barred forms of betting used to vastly outnumber what was considered legal. Rhode Island General Laws § 11-19-1, which dated back all the way back to 1896, prohibited any individual from “directly or indirectly” engaging in the business of any kind of gambling, which state law classified as lotteries or games of chance “of any nature or kind whatsoever” by which money or things of value, including property, could be won.

However, this all changed in 2018 when legislators made the appropriate changes to state laws and put regulations in place to build a sports betting industry in Rhode Island by approving Senate Bill 2045. IGT is the operator of these books and was surprisingly the only bidder to seek a service contract from Twin Rivers (now Bally’s Corporation).

Rhode Island Sports Betting Timeline

• 2026: On April 10th, Representative Matthew Dawson supported a bill that would bring more mobile sports betting options to Rhode Island.
• 2024: On March 1st, Bally Casino became the first locally regulated casino app to launch in RI.
• 2023: Gov. Dan McKee passed SB948 to regulate a local online casino market.
• 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. 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. One sad note: Tom Brady came out of retirement to haunt Rhode Island sportsbooks once again.
• 2021: Super Bowl 55 reveals that Rhode Island’s sportsbooks biggest liability might be Tom Brady. Revenue for the month of February decreased by 35%. “This is an occurrence in sports betting,” said Mark Furcolo, Director of the Rhode Island State Lottery Commission. “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. Amazingly, this also happened in 2019, when the Brady-led New England Patriots cost Rhode Island $2.35 million by beating the LA Rams.
• 2020: Sportsbook Rhode Island receives a makeover during the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes online betting easier. Sen. Dominick Ruggerio sponsors HB 8097 and SB 2919 in an attempt to remove the in-person registration requirement. “Gaming is our third-largest source of revenue in Rhode Island and it’s been affected by the COVID-19 virus,” said Ruggerio. “We are trying to get back as much revenue as we possibly can and we feel that this is a way to do it to encourage people to subscribe to the app without having to go to a facility physically.”
• 2019: Online sports betting in Rhode Island sees an expansion with S 37. The measure quickly moved through the legislature, passing the Senate in February and the House in March. Governor Gina Raimondo signed the measure shortly after, allowing the William Hill sportsbook app known as Sportsbook Rhode Island to accept Rhode Island bets from anywhere within Rhode Island’s border.
• 2018: PASPA is repealed and Rhode Island holds their first post-PASPA sports betting law discussion. S 2045 advances, ending with Governor Gina Raimondo signing the measure in June and budgeting for $23.5 million in sports betting revenue in July(a figure that was nowhere close to hitting). In-person sports betting became regulated after the passage of S 2045 and November marked the launch of Rhode Island sportsbooks, when Twin River Lincoln accepted the state’s first bet.

Sportsbook Rhode Island

Sportsbook Rhode Island is the operation run by a partnership between the Rhode Island Lottery, Caesars Entertainment, and IGT. Profit sharing is such that the lottery takes 51%, and this is the only sports betting option that is regulated by the state of Rhode Island. They have a direct hand in it, and the amount of profit sharing required does impact the odds that are offered, so offshore sportsbooks are occasionally better in terms of odds.

Bally’s Twin River Casino Lincoln

The Bally’s Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI, was the first land-based sportsbook to open in the state. This sportsbook offers odds on professional and college sporting events.

Bally’s Tiverton Casino

Bally’s Tiverton Casino is one of the two retail casinos operating in the state. Just like Bally’s Twin River, Bally’s Tiverton is partnered with Sportsbook Rhode Island to offer mobile betting.

Can I Bet Real Money On Sports In Rhode Island?

You can bet real money on the outcome of sporting events in Rhode Island, but if you don’t do it at a licensed and reputable offshore sports betting website or at an in-state sportsbook then you will be in violation of state law. Though nobody has been prosecuted for placing bets, it’s a wise move not to tempt fate that way, as no amount of winnings is worth being behind bars on the off chance you find yourself before a judge. Fortunately, the aforementioned offshore sites offer utter financial and legal security for legal Rhode Island sports betting participants. They aren’t the only option for real money legal sports betting, but they are convenient, easy to use, and offer attractive betting options and bonuses

What Is the Sports Betting Age In Rhode Island?

​Rhode Island is one of the few states with legal sports betting that accepts players at 18 from all of the different betting options. Whether you use BetOnline/other offshore sportsbooks, or you use Sportsbook RI/in-person casino sportsbooks, the legal sports betting age is 18 and up.

Are There Mobile Sports Betting Apps Available In Rhode Island?

All the top sports betting sites legal in Rhode Island have mobile versions and web-apps (i.e. browser-based app-like experiences) designed to work with both Android and iOS, and these are freely available. They offer virtually the same streamlined betting experiences as can be found on their desktop portals, but they have the added convenience of allowing users to place bets no matter where they are. Along with mobile betting sites that take RI residents like BetOnline, Sportsbook Rhode Island is also available but requires an app to be downloaded.

Sports Teams In Rhode Island To Bet On

New England Patriots (NFL)	Boston Red Sox (MLB)	Boston Celtics (NBA)
Boston Bruins (NHL)	Brown Bears (NCAA-D1)	Bryant Bulldogs (NCAA-D1)
Providence Friars (NCAA-D1)	Rhode Island Rams (NCAA-D1)	Johnson & Wales–Providence Wildcats (NCAA-D3)
Rhode Island College Anchormen (NCAA-D3)	Roger Williams Hawks (NCAA-D3)	Salve Regina Seahawks (NCAA-D3)

Sportsbooks In Rhode Island To Bet

If getting out of the house is your forte, you can drive to one of the two local casino sportsbooks. If you prefer convenience, online sports betting with an offshore operator is always an option. This can be accessed from your phone or computer anywhere you have an Internet connection. Those looking to take a weekend getaway can also take the trip down the coast to New Jersey sportsbooks or Pennsylvania sportsbooks and play in their casinos, most of which offer full single-game sports betting as well.

How To Bet On RI College Teams In Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s local sportsbooks are prohibited from offering player props for college football, affecting wagers on players from the Brown Bears. This restriction is part of Rhode Island’s regulatory framework. Offshore sportsbooks offer these prop bets and more, operating under international regulations. They are licensed and secure, ensuring a reliable betting experience. Discover these online options for a fuller range of college football bets.

• Bet On College Football In RI
• Bet On College Basketball In RI
• Bet On College Baseball In RI

What To Know About Rhode Island Sports Betting Deposit Options

The legal sports betting deposit methods vary by sportsbook in Rhode Island. All of the sportsbooks available in the state accept debit cards, bank transfers, and E-wallets like PayPal/Venmo. It is important to note that Sportsbook RI does not accept credit cards, Cash App, or any form of crypto, while BetOnline and other offshore sportsbooks do.

Rhode Island Sports Betting News

Horse Racing Betting In Rhode Island

Pari-mutuel betting on horse racing was once the only state-sanctioned form of legal Rhode Island sports betting. Though originally not allowed by anti-gambling state statutes passed in 1896, horserace betting was made legal by voter referendum in 1934, and it wasn’t long afterward that Rhode Island’s first horse racing track, Narragansett Park, was open for business. Within 14 years, a second track, Lincoln Downs, opened, leading to a booming horse racing and breeding industry in the state. Unfortunately, all that came to an end in the 1970s, leading both failing tracks to eventually – many years later – convert into full-on casinos.

Daily Fantasy Sports In Rhode Island

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operators like DraftKings (based nearby in Boston, Massachusetts) and FanDuel are not restricted from Rhode Island players. The DFS industry has, since 2006, relied on language contained in the UIGEA to avoid classification as a “game of chance” and thus from gambling regulation, but that hasn’t stopped some states from declaring DFS to be the same as sports betting. Rhode Island, however, is one state that has lined up with the federal pronouncement, and in 2016, RI Attorney General Peter Kilmartin issued an opinion that DFS contests are indeed “games of skill,” at least in the view of the Ocean State.

Representative Raymond Gallison sponsored House Bill 7492 soon afterward, requiring DFS operators to become licensed through the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, but so far no DFS regulatory legislation has gotten farther than that. No effort to ban DFS has been undertaken either, although the Rhode Island lottery has advocated for it. At any rate, it will be up to voter referendum to decide the “legal” fate of DFS in Rhode Island, where roughly 170,000 residents currently play fantasy contests for money.