Rhode Island’s sports betting handle bounced back from a relatively unimpressive January to $2.3 million in the month of February. This shows more than 2x improvement over the same month from 2019.

Rhode Island makes a killing

The total revenue for the month of February was down by 30.3% when compared with the $3.3 million earned in January 2020. However, players more during the month. The total amount wagered by punters was higher by 4.5% month-on-month to $28.1 million. On a year-on-year basis, consumer spending increased by 35.8%.

The top casino in the state for the month was the Twin River Lincoln which received $1.5 million revenue. In the same month last year, the casino posted a loss of $908,264. This happened despite consumer spending falling by 8.4% to $15.2 million.

Their second casino in Tiverton posted $413,626 in sports betting revenue. This was a staggering 2,244.7% increase from February last year when the casino earned only $17.641. Player spending at the casino increased by 11.7% to $4.5 million a year-on-year basis.

What about mobile sports betting?

The mobile sports betting revenue at the Tiverton casino decreased by 47.3% on a month-on-month basis to $407,050. This is the lowest monthly amount posted by the casino since it launched its mobile sportsbook in September 2019. Interestingly, mobile stakes were up by 9% during the month. In January, the stakes totaled $7.8 million which increased to $8.5 million in January.

Note that mobile sports betting is relatively new in the state. The state has permitted only two Twin River properties to accept wagers and bettors need to register themselves at the physical casinos before they bet online. This could be hindering the state’s potential in terms of higher revenues. Rhode Island was one of the first states to legalize sports betting in the world.

However, the state has been relatively slow in making progress as compared to its peers like New Jersey. The state has taken a slow path to allow mobile wagering and the procedure is also very clunky which is hindering the progress of the sports betting industry. If Rhode Island wants to make any progress, it will have to do away with the requirements of registering in-person for mobile sports betting.

The other big problem with the state is its humongous 51% tax slab. It is the highest tax rate in the country for sports betting which is crushing the revenue prospects of the state. This makes the sportsbook operators take less initiative.