Providence mayoral candidate Daniel Harrop had requested a Superior Court for an injunction that could stop sports betting in Rhode Island. However, the Judge ruled that wagering is constitutionally viable in the state.

The case against sports betting

Harrop requested the court for summary judgment without a full trial. He argued that the two casinos and online sports betting operations in the state are violating the Rhode Island constitution. H said that the implementation of sports betting will violate Article 6, Section 22 of the Rhode Island Constitution. He also said that it requires voters to approve any expansion in the type as well as the location of gambling that is allowed within the state.

Governor Gina Raimondo’s administration is of the view that the voters have already given a go-ahead to sports betting. This happen when they approved table games and when the Twin River Casino opened in Tiverton. Judge Brian Stern sided with the defendants and ruled that the state’s voters had greenlighted betting twice in the past, in 2012 and 2016.

The court removes hurdles

According to Stern,

“The Court finds that based on the plain language of the Referenda Questions and the definition of casino gaming in the Handbooks, voters had ‘fair notice’ that they were broadly approving all casino gaming and any other game included within the definition of Class III gaming.”

He also said that voter approval of the Referenda Questions was not limited strictly to table games alone. The approval must not be limited to table games alone simply because they were listed explicitly in the vote. Therefore, the approval will be applicable to all state-operated casino gaming.

Harrop had claimed that online betting will allow the state and operators to hold wagering in any location in Rhode Island. This is not limited to casinos alone. However, the state has clarified that all sports wagering must be either placed on or accepted by a server in the Twin River facilities. Stern reiterated that sports betting should be considered constitutional.