RI Sports Betting Goes Up, Colorado Signs Bill, Illinois Plans Fail

• Rhode Island’s sports betting handle goes up
• Colorado passes a sports betting bill
• Illinois’ sports betting plans dashed for the moment

The sports betting climate in the United States continues to change rapidly, with results going up and down and individual states fighting for a chance to break ahead by legalizing their industries.

Rhode Island’s Sports Betting Revenue Goes Up in April

Rhode Island has reached a new landmark insofar as its sports betting industry is concerned, with the state turning a solid profit in April, posting $1.97 million. The Twin River casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton took in around $16.9 million in wagers and paid out $14.9 million back to successful customers.

Interestingly, the casino’s customers reported their lowest earnings since RI legalized the industry in December, 2018. Similarly, this is the lowest result in terms of total sports handle that the pair of casinos have reported. In March, RI’s casinos lost $890,623 on sports betting wagers.

Colorado Passes Sports Betting Bill Signed by Governor

Colorado is to become the latest state that has passed a sports betting bill successfully in 2019. Governor Jared Polis has signed the bill allowing it to continue to the ballot box where voters would decide whether HB19-1327 can become a legal framework leading to the introducing of sports betting in the state.

Submitted only on April 18, the bill managed to garner support in both houses of legislature and headed for the Governor’s office where Mr. Polis signed it into law without raising any objections. One of the main reasons for endorsing the bill was the state’s expectations to bite into the offshore industry’s revenue and bring money back to Colo.

Illinois Sports Betting Hopes Dashed

A third major development occurred in Illinois where sports betting effort crumbled. S 153 failed to clear the House Appropriations Committee which struck it down, dashing Senator Danny Martiny’s hopes or introducing a legalized sports betting framework in the state.

A 14-6 vote put the bill on hold and unable to continue in the current legal session. A more realistic approach would be to wait until next year. Meanwhile, opponents explained their decision not to let Illinois’ bill progress, citing concerns about third-party betting data. Rep. Jack McFarland had the following to say:

“We want the statistics and data for each game to come from the official sports organization which is participating. Not from a third party.”

Martiny though remonstrated that if the data was of any value to operators, they should be left to use it based on free market economics – any way they saw fit, and regardless of the provider, i.e. official league bodies or third-parties.

Official sports leagues are already eyeing the opportunities made possible with the help of sports betting businesses, both at home and abroad.