SB3 passed by Rhode Island Senate allowing betting on in-state college teams

SB3 would allow betting on collegiate events in tournaments with four or more teams.

SB3 will now go to the House Finance Committee.

SB3 is a bill proposed in the Rhode Island Senate that seeks to allow sports betting on in-state collegiate teams. This would reverse the prohibition on such bets that was put in place when sports betting was legalized in the state in 2018. The bill was filed by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and has been approved by the Senate, but it still needs to be reviewed by the House Finance Committee before it can become law.

Under SB3, it would be permissible to place bets on in-state collegiate team events in tournaments that involve four or more teams, regardless of whether the tournament takes place in Rhode Island or not. According to the bill’s definition, these tournaments must consist of a series of athletic events that involve at least four collegiate teams and constitute a single unit of competition. Examples of such tournaments include pre-season invitationals, conference tournaments, and NCAA tournaments, including March Madness.

It took SB3 over two months to move through the Senate, with the bill initially presented to the Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs Committee on January 10. Following additional review, the bill was eventually passed through the committee on March 22.

While no specific date has been set for the bill to be heard in the House Finance Committee, the Rhode Island House has a schedule in place that requires bills to leave the committee by April 11 in order to be considered for passage during this session.

Senate President Ruggerio has suggested that the bill will increase state revenues and implied that it is a response to the opening of the sports betting market in Massachusetts, which enables Rhode Island residents to cross the state border to place bets on college sports.

“I think it’s something that will raise revenue next year,” Ruggerio said. “I’m also looking at igaming. I think that will be a substantial revenue generator down the line where people can stay at home and basically do everything similar to what they do on sports betting.”