Lincoln looks to raise stake from Twin River sportsbook revenue

LINCOLN – Town officials are hoping to get a bigger slice of the sports betting revenue pie at Twin River Casino.

At a recent meeting, the Lincoln Town Council unanimously voted to adopt a resolution supporting state Sen. Thomas J. Paolino’s (Dist. 17 Lincoln, North Smithfield, North Providence) proposed bill to double the annual allotment the town gets as the host community for sports betting at the casino.

When sports wagering became legal two years ago, the General Assembly agreed to allocate 51 percent of all revenue derived from sports wagering to the state; 32 percent to the state’s authorized vendor; 17 percent to Twin River (as the host facility); and an annual flat fee of $100,000 to the town of Lincoln as compensation for serving as the host community.

Paolino’s bill, which is pending in the Senate, would double the town’s annual compensation to $200,000 a year. According to the bill, the town of Tiverton, which is the host community for the Twin River gambling facility in that town, would also see its annual flat fee increase to $200,000.

Co-sponsoring the bill are Senators Ryan W. Pearson, Louis P. DiPalma, Elaine J. Morgan and Dominick J. Ruggerio.

Lincoln town officials believe the allocated annual amount should have been higher due to increase activity at the casino – activity they say has increased the cost of public safety response from the town.

“Sen. Paolino reached out to me a couple of weeks ago and told me that he had put in a bill at the Statehouse and wanted the Town Council to approve and submit a local resolution supporting the bill,” said Councilman Kenneth Pichette. “When the state was negotiating how revenue from sports wagering would be allocated, a lot of people thought the town should have gotten a higher amount. So what this bill does is basically double that amount.”

Copies of the council resolution will be sent to the General Assembly, Democratic House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Gov. Gina Raimondo.

Rhode Island legalized and launched sports betting after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law last year that made most sports gambling illegal.

Casinos in Rhode Island lost nearly $900,000 on sports betting in February after winning bets for the Super Bowl and other professional sports were paid out, according to the state lottery. Gamblers had placed a total of $53.5 million in wagers since the late November launch of sports betting in the state, with $53.2 million paid on winning bets, according to the lottery’s figures for bets placed at Twin River Casino in Lincoln and Tiverton.

The state gets 51 percent of sports betting profits, after subtracting expenses. That left Rhode Island as of late last month with about $150,000 in revenue from sports betting since its late November launch. The state had projected it would get $11.5 million from the new market this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Raimondo’s proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 counts on $30 million from sports betting, including $3 million in new revenue from mobile gambling.

Rhode Island sports betting numbers, however, improved in March thanks to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament which drew in big time betting crowds for March Madness. Last month, Sports Book Rhode Island made $1,548,230, a significant improvement from February.