2023 has turned out to be a dismal year for the advancement of online poker legislation across the United States, with several different states lightly considering various online gambling measures. To date, however, none have made a serious move toward becoming law, and most of the 2023 legalization efforts have ended up time-barred and pushed to 2024 or beyond.
While several bills have faltered, at least one state's efforts remain alive. That's in tiny Rhode Island, where matching House and Senate bills that would legalize several forms of online gambling, including poker, have just been introduced.
Thursday's filing of House Bill 6348 (H6348) and Senate Bill 0948 (S0948) continues the effort begun by the state's largest casino-entertainment entity, Bally's Corporation. Though the matter had drifted away from many industry watchers' awareness, lobbyists for Bally's had announced in February that they were working with Rhode Island legislators to craft iGaming legislation.
Bally's operates the only two casinos of note in Rhode Island, at Tiverton and Twin River Lincoln, so its de facto monopoly makes the legislative process much easier in one regard -- there's no in-fighting among potential stakeholders, as has happened in several larger states. In Rhode Island, even though its gambling revenue is tiny compared to these bigger states, there's still the matter as seen from the state's viewpoint that Rhode Island's gamblers are being swept up by existing and planned megacasinos in the neighboring states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York.
It makes sense that Rhode Island would emerge as the favorite to pass iGaming legislation in 2023, all factors considered. Whether Bally's and other iGaming supporters can move the bills remains to be seen, but there is significant hope that a successful effort will take place.
Legislation a 'first step' for iGaming in Rhode Island
The bills already have important backers and sponsors. On Thursday, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi issued a joint statement backing the effort toward legalizing iGaming in Rhode Island.
“This legislation is a first step in the public review process around potential iGaming in Rhode Island,” said Ruggerio and Shekarchi. "Our state casinos provide an important source of revenue to fund vital programs and investments that benefit all Rhode Islanders. The companies that manage casino operations on behalf of the state have made significant investments to ensure they are well positioned to thrive in the years ahead, much of which was required under [previous] legislation.
"It is imperative that we continue to explore all avenues to protect and bolster our competitive position, including the potential for iGaming."
Bally's also issued a statement confirming the twin bills' introduction. “We intend to model this after the legislation used to establish online sports betting in Rhode Island, effectively giving the State complete regulatory control and the ability to ensure the integrity of the program, while maximizing revenue for the State," said Elizabeth Suever, Vice President of Government Relations for Bally’s Corporation.
Multi-state compacts mentioned in bills' text
The two bills specifically include language that is designed to allow for online poker's inclusion. Poker as a game first receives a couple of mentions in the bills' list of definitions for allowed casino-style table games. Poker's special stance as a player-v-player game, however, comes into play when the bills mention a "reciprocal agreement" with other states' regulatory agencies, as follows:
"The Division may enter into an interactive gaming reciprocal agreement with a regulatory agency of one or more other states or jurisdictions in which interactive gaming is authorized to allow an interactive gaming operator to accept wagers from persons not physically present in Rhode Island, and to allow persons physically present in Rhode Island to place wagers with parties to the interactive gaming reciprocal agreement, if the reciprocal agreement is notinconsistent with federal law and is approved by the governor."
The language would free up Rhode Island to partner with any other single state, or to partner with an entity such as MSIGA, the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, through which online poker players in several other US states are already pooled. With a population of just 1.1 million, Rhode Island is not a viable standalone online-poker market, so joining MSIGA or another entity would be an imperative.
