Guide to Online Gambling in Rhode Island: The Best Rhode Island Gambling Sites for 2024

Rhode Island DFS

Players in Rhode Island can legally play at various daily fantasy sports sites. Although no specific bill has been passed legalizing them, the Attorney General published a decision in 2016 stating that the sites were “likely legal” under state law. As such, these games became, in effect, legal and players can enjoy all the benefits of the sites below without any worry about breaking state or federal laws. For more info, you can check our page about Rhode Island daily fantasy betting. Or you can explore the opportunities granted to you by other states, too, like Minnesota daily fantasy where you can enjoy your favourite type of betting legaly.

Gambling Laws in Rhode Island

Rhode Island gambling laws are a tricky matter. For a lot of different niches in the industry the situation is that, in theory, playing is legal but, in practice, there is a limited number of ways to bet legally in Rhode Island. In the following sections, I will take you through each form of gambling in detail. But first, let’s get the overall picture.

There are two land-based casinos in the state, as well as several horse and greyhound racing tracks, which accept bets legally. There are currently no tribal casinos in the state, and there are no ways to bet online, whether it be sports betting, casinos or lottery. However, you can place legal sports bets at certain licensed and registered establishments.

Rhode Island Sports Betting

Sports betting has been legal since 2018. The state became the sixth in the Union to accept a legal sports wager in November of 2018. However, online sports betting remains impossible, as there is no infrastructure to support sites to operate legally in the state. All unlicensed establishments should be avoided. For more info and some tips, you can refer to the Rhode Island sports betting page which will give you a head start! For the more curious readers, we have prepared yet another page, though, related to sports betting in the state of Washington.

Rhode Island Online Casinos

While you can gamble at commercial casinos in Rhode Island, there are currently no legal and safe online casinos that cater to RI residents. This may change in the future as there are no specific laws prohibiting this, but at the moment, any site offering gambling to Rhode Islanders is operating outside of the law. For more information about this, make sure to go through our Rhode Island casino guide

Rhode Island Online Poker

The situation for Rhode Island online poker is the same as for online casinos. This means that, while it is not explicitly illegal, there are no legal sites for players to enjoy. You can check back on this page anytime to find out if this has changed.

Rhode Island Lottery

The Rhode Island lottery has been running since 1974 and has earned almost $7 billion for the State’s general fund, making it the biggest voluntary source of funding there. You can buy tickets as long as you are at least 18 years old. Rhode Islanders can buy tickets for multi-state lotteries, such as the Mega Millions. However, you can’t currently buy Rhode Island lottery tickets online.

History of Gambling in Rhode Island

As one of the oldest states in the nation, Rhode Island’s gambling history is long and storied. In recent years, things have begun to open up from a very tightly restricted situation a hundred years ago. Read below to see the highlights.

Rhode Island State Facts

It is the smallest state in the union. It was the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British crown. Rhode Island has lots of interesting facts and pieces of trivia attached to it. Did you know, for example, that the state has more shipwrecks per square mile? Rhode Island is also home to the world’s largest bug. It is a 58-foot-long plastic termite (928 times the size of an actual termite) that lives on top of the New England Pest Control office in Providence. You can see some other interesting facts about Rhode Island below.

Gambling Age in Rhode Island

You can gamble in Rhode Island as long as you are at least 18 years old, because the state recognizes individuals as adults as soon as they reach this age. However, the exception to this is for drinking alcohol. See below for some key minimum ages in Rhode Island.

• Online Gambling Age:
  You must be at least 18 years old to gamble in Rhode Island
• Alcohol Age
  You must be at least 21 years old to drink alcohol
• Weed Age
  Recreational marijuana is illegal, though some medical uses are permitted

Responsible Gambling and Addiction Prevention

It can be difficult to know where to turn if you are having concerns about your gambling habits, or if you know that your betting is having a negative impact on your life. In Rhode Island, the best place to start is with the National Council on Problem Gambling, which is dedicated to helping problem gamblers.

Upcoming Regulation and Expected Changes

There aren’t actually any expected changes on the scene in Rhode Island just now. The biggest possibility is that at some point online bets could be permitted, though no bills to this effect have been put forward. Yet, you can find plenty of other top opportunities for gambling in the US. Hope you liked this guide and don’t forget to check back in the future to see what the latest news is.

• Connecticut
• Massachusetts
• New York
• Maine