Rhode Island Sports Betting Revenue, Handle and Taxes
Rhode Island Gambling Trends
Rhode Island Sports Betting Data
| Month | Handle | Handle Per Capita | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
| November 2023 | $48,277,794 | $65 | $3,413,200 | 7.1% | $1,740,732 |
| October 2023 | $45,840,376 | $61 | $4,545,634 | 9.9% | $2,318,273 |
| September 2023 | $37,645,368 | $50 | $3,472,089 | 9.2% | $1,770,765 |
| August 2023 | $22,472,561 | $30 | $1,365,807 | 6.1% | $696,562 |
| July 2023 | $20,238,844 | $27 | $1,896,983 | 9.4% | $967,461 |
| June 2023 | $23,723,659 | $32 | $1,783,530 | 7.5% | $909,600 |
| May 2023 | $30,754,497 | $41 | $3,898,405 | 12.7% | $1,988,187 |
| April 2023 | $37,496,094 | $50 | $3,009,679 | 8% | $1,534,936 |
| March 2023 | $41,546,643 | $56 | $3,968,567 | 9.6% | $2,023,969 |
| February 2023 | $43,065,996 | $58 | $3,612,113 | 8.4% | $1,842,178 |
Rhode Island Sports Betting Revenue
Rhode Island was one of the first states to legalize sports betting following the repeal of PASPA. PASPA was repealed on May 14, 2018, and Rhode Island legalized sports betting in June 2018. Despite being legal for several years now, there is currently only one active online sportsbook, the Sportsbook Rhode Island, which is run by the Rhode Island Lottery. This is similar to another state in the northeast, New Hampshire, which has a negotiated monopoly with DraftKings as the only sportsbook in the state.
Despite having just one online sportsbook, sports betting has been and continues to be very popular in Rhode Island. In 2019, the first full year with legal sports betting, the Rhode Island sports betting revenue was $17,806,694. The Rhode Island sports betting revenue increased in 2020 and again in 2021, and reached an all-time high in 2022. Following 2022, the Rhode Island sports betting revenue totaled $49,298,062. It remains to be seen what the figures will look like in 2023, but through June, the RI sports betting revenue is just under $20 million.
Despite having no professional sports teams, it’s clear that Rhode Island residents love betting on sports. If you are interested, you can find figures for Rhode Island sports betting revenue by sport and Rhode Island sports betting revenue by state ranking among all of the US states.
Rhode Island Sports Betting Taxes
It’s a good idea to be familiar with Rhode Island sports betting taxes, no matter if you are brand new to sports betting or have been betting for many years. Key things to know are the Rhode Island sports betting tax rate, plus how to report your Rhode Island sports betting taxes. In RI, the Rhode Island sports betting tax rate is 51%. Along with New York and New Hampshire, this is the highest rate of any state with legalized sports betting. 51% is also well above the national average, which is 19%.
Despite the high Rhode Island sports betting tax rate, the popularity of sports betting remains high. In 2022 alone, revenue from Rhode Island sports betting taxes totaled over $25 million. Remember, your winnings from sports betting must have Rhode Island sports betting taxes applied, so be sure to include any winnings as “other income” when filing your yearly taxes.
Rhode Island Sports Betting Handle
The handle in sports betting refers to the total amount of money wagered by a given population. For example, there is a Rhode Island sports betting handle which would be the total amount wagered by RI bettors and a United States betting handle which is the total wagered nationwide. The US sports betting handle has increased each year with more states legalizing sports betting. The US sports betting handle in 2021 was $58 billion and $93.7 billion in 2022. Based on the first half of 2023, it’s looking like we could see yet another increase.
In 2019, the Rhode Island sports betting handle was $245,811,496, a significant number for a state with a small population relative to other states. The 2020 Rhode Island sports betting handle actually dropped to $221,916,076, but that was an anomaly. In 2021, the Rhode Island sports betting handle exploded to $454,457,990 and increased to over $530 million in 2022. Through six months of 2023, the Rhode Island sports betting handle is roughly on pace with last year.
Rhode Island Sports Betting Handle Per Capita
Raw sports betting handle data is important, but the handle per capita is a much better way to compare states, particularly those with smaller populations. The sports betting handle per capita is calculated by dividing the state’s total betting handle by the state’s population, which allows us to compare a state such as Rhode Island, with the 45th-highest population, to New York, which ranks fourth in the US in population.
Since the launch of sports betting in RI, the average Rhode Island sports betting handle per capita is $40.73. In 2022, the handle per capita averaged $59.33. Perhaps the most interesting state to compare with Rhode Island’s handle per capita is New Hampshire, given the format of sports betting being quite similar. New Hampshire has a similar population to that of Rhode Island and also has just one online sportsbook for bettors. Despite the similarities, the 2022 New Hampshire handle per capita averaged $84.83 per month, which is obviously significantly higher than the Rhode Island sports betting handle per capita of $59.33
Rhode Island Sports Betting Hold
The sports betting hold is defined as the percentage of money that a sportsbook keeps for every dollar wagered by customers. For instance, if a sportsbook has a monthly handle of $10 million and a revenue of $1 million, that means it paid out $9 million in winnings. This computes to a hold percentage of 10%.
Since the launch of legal sports betting, the Rhode Island sports betting hold has been 8.9%. Using just the past 12 months, the Rhode Island sports betting hold percentage was 9.6%. Both figures are just above the 2022 national average of 8.1%.
FAQs
Yes, Rhode Island sports betting taxes must be applied to any winnings when filing yearly taxes. The Rhode Island sports betting tax rate is 51%.
Since the beginning of legal sports betting in the state, the Rhode Island sports betting handle has totaled $1,683,746,703.
The Rhode Island sports betting hold has averaged 8.9%, which is slightly higher than the national average of 8.1%.
In total, the Rhode Island sports betting revenue has eclipsed $150 million – $150,608,201 to be exact through June 2023.
The revenue from Rhode Island sports betting taxes has now surpassed $76,810,183. Given the high Rhode Island sports betting tax rate of 51%, taxes from sports betting is a huge source of revenue for the state.