Rhode Island Sports Betting Up In March, But Still Below Projections

Rhode Island’s legal sports betting business had its "best month yet in March, but still fell short of the profits the state anticipated when it legalized athletic wagering last year," according to Patrick Anderson of the PROVIDENCE JOURNAL. Sports Book Rhode Island made $1,548,230 in March, a "significant improvement from February," when it lost nearly $900,000. Since sports betting launched in the state last November, the operation has made a total of $1.8M (state’s share around $925,000) with three months left in the fiscal year. The budget lawmakers passed last summer assumed $23.5M in sports betting revenue, or nearly $2M per month. Gov. Gina Raimondo’s budget plan for next year, released in January, "revised down its revenue expectations for next year" to $11.5M. The Rhode Island Lottery "plans to launch online sports betting by the start of next fall’s football season but has not finalized further details about who will develop it and under what terms" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 4/23).