You are here: Home Sports Betting News Gambling Industry Rhode Island Wants to Remove In-Person Betting Registration
Online sports betting has been around for a long time, but the industry experienced a surge in popularity. The coronavirus pandemic is keeping people home. Therefore, bettors are looking at online sports betting software sites as a venue for them to place bets. And since sports leagues are slowly resuming their games, there is a lot that people can bet on. For states, they see this as an opportunity to raise money to deal with rising fiscal deficits.
Not all states allow for online sports betting. Some, like Rhode Island, do allow for online sportsbooks, but require people to go to a retail gambling shop to register before they consider placing bets online. And if you know how to run a sportsbook, you know that these policies are very limiting, and can hinder people from joining that particular sportsbook.
When you read through pay per head services reviews, you will see that the accessibility to the software is always important when it comes to sports betting. The goal is to make things as easy as possible for sports bettors. This is something that lawmakers in Rhode Island are finally starting to realize. To compare, May 2019 brought in a $18.9 million in handle, while May 2020 only has $1.5 million.
Now, H 8097, a house bill filed by House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and House Finance Committee Chairman Marvin Abney aims to correct that. The Senate will also draft a similar bill and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio will introduce this bill. The bill proposes that geofencing be done while the player is placing bets, as opposed to during log in. it also eliminates the need for people to visit a retail sportsbook to register in person.
Hopefully, as more retail sportsbooks open, and more sports events are offered, we will also see more action in the state. Once the in-person restriction will be lifted, the numbers will most likely increase as well.