Best online sportsbook Rhode Island isn't really a ranking question yet — it's a countdown. Sportsbook RI, run by IGT under an exclusive Rhode Island Lottery contract, has been the only legal mobile sportsbook in the state since it launched in September 2019. That exclusivity has an expiration date stamped on it: November 26, 2026, the day Bally Bet is cleared to go live as Rhode Island's second licensed app.
Is Online Sports Betting Legal in Rhode Island? Yes, Narrowly
Rhode Island authorized sports betting through the 2018 state budget process, months after the Supreme Court struck down PASPA. Retail wagering opened that November at Twin River Lincoln and Tiverton; mobile betting followed in September 2019. Most states that legalized sports betting around the same time built an open licensing market — apply, get vetted, go live. Rhode Island didn't. The law routes the entire market through the Lottery, which signed one vendor contract with IGT and has run it as a closed shop ever since.
Rhode Island's sportsbook market, in short
- Mobile betting legal since: September 2019
- Licensed operators today: 1 (Sportsbook RI / IGT)
- Second operator arrives: November 26, 2026 (Bally Bet)
- Revenue split: 51% state, 32% platform vendor, 17% casino host
- Open-market bill: Senate-passed, House pending (SB 3118)
Why Bally Bet Is the Honest Pick for What's Coming
The Rhode Island Lottery picked Bally's Corporation in May 2026 for a tentative five-year deal, choosing it over Rush Street Interactive's BetRivers — the only other company that bid. It's not a stretch pick: Bally's already owns both of the state's physical casinos, Twin River in Lincoln and Bally's Tiverton, giving it the retail footprint the Lottery wanted in a second vendor. The app itself is the same Bally Bet brand already running in 11 other states — Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia — just not switched on here until the IGT contract's exclusivity lapses.
What About DraftKings, FanDuel, or an Offshore Book?
Neither DraftKings nor FanDuel holds a Rhode Island license, because there's never been a license queue for them to enter. DraftKings is on record backing Senate Bill 3118, which would let the Lottery issue four to six vendor licenses starting in 2027 and passed the Senate 30-6 in June 2026 — a real legislative push, not a rumor — but it stalled short of a House vote, and Lottery Director Mark Furcolo has called the whole idea likely unconstitutional. Outside the regulated system, BetOnline.ag keeps taking Rhode Island accounts on a Panama license and hasn't been named in the Lottery's 2025 enforcement letters, which is more than can be said for Bovada, which exited the state entirely at the end of 2025 after those letters landed.
Kalshi: Live in the State, Fighting Over Whether It's Allowed To Be
Kalshi doesn't call itself a sportsbook — it's a CFTC-designated exchange listing sports event contracts, and that federal label is the entire basis for operating in a state that has never licensed it. Rhode Island isn't letting that argument go unanswered. Kalshi sued the state on May 21, 2026 seeking a ruling that Rhode Island can't apply its gambling law to a federally regulated exchange; Attorney General Peter Neronha filed his own suit the same day arguing the opposite, pointing to an 8% year-over-year drop in Sportsbook RI handle as evidence the contracts are eating into the licensed market. The CFTC moved to intervene on Neronha's case May 28, 2026. A federal judge heard arguments on Kalshi's request for a preliminary injunction on July 16, 2026 and, as of this writing, hasn't ruled — so nothing currently blocks Kalshi from Rhode Island residents, and nothing currently clears it either.
So What Does a Rhode Island Bettor Actually Have?
One licensed app today, a second confirmed for November 26, 2026, a legislative push for a real open market still stuck in the House, and a federal lawsuit over whether a third kind of product belongs in the conversation at all. That's an unusually active regulatory picture for a state this small. None of it is a way to make money — it's 21+ entertainment in a market that, for the first time since 2019, is actually about to give Rhode Islanders a second legal choice.
The short list
- 1. Bally Bet — Rhode Island’s incoming second license — not live yet
Awarded a tentative five-year deal by the Rhode Island Lottery in May 2026, beating Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers as the only other bidder. Bally’s already owns Rhode Island’s two casinos, Twin River Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton, but its contract bars taking a single bet before November 26, 2026, when IGT’s exclusivity expires. Until then, the Bally Bet app that’s already live in 11 other states simply isn’t turned on here.
- 2. BetOnline.ag — Unlicensed but not named in the 2025 enforcement sweep
Holds no Rhode Island license and sits outside the Lottery’s system entirely, operating on a Panama license instead. Unlike Bovada, which the Lottery and Department of Revenue pushed out of the state at the end of 2025, BetOnline has continued taking Rhode Island accounts, with roughly two decades of payout history behind it and no state regulator standing behind any of it.
- 3. Kalshi — Neither cleared nor blocked — litigation ongoing
A CFTC-designated exchange, not a sportsbook, offering sports event contracts in a state that has never licensed it to do so. Kalshi sued Rhode Island on May 21, 2026 to block state enforcement; Attorney General Peter Neronha sued back the same day; the CFTC moved to intervene May 28, 2026. A federal judge heard arguments on a preliminary injunction July 16, 2026 and has not ruled as of this writing.
The honest verdict
There is no competitive pick to make yet. Sportsbook RI, operated by IGT under an exclusive Rhode Island Lottery contract since 2019, is the only legal mobile sportsbook a Rhode Island resident can use today, and that stays true until November 26, 2026. On that date Bally Bet — the same Bally’s Corporation brand already licensed in 11 other states — is cleared to launch as Rhode Island’s second operator under a tentative five-year deal the Lottery awarded in May 2026, beating the only other bidder, BetRivers operator Rush Street Interactive. DraftKings is lobbying hard for a real multi-operator market: Senate Bill 3118 passed the Rhode Island Senate 30-6 in June 2026 and would let the Lottery license four to six vendors starting in 2027, but it has not cleared the House, and the Lottery’s own director has called the idea likely unconstitutional. Outside that regulated system, BetOnline.ag holds no license but isn’t blocked either, which is a meaningfully different position than Bovada’s, since Bovada exited Rhode Island at the end of 2025 after the Lottery and Department of Revenue sent cease-and-desist letters to six offshore operators. Kalshi occupies the strangest spot of all: it sued Rhode Island in federal court on May 21, 2026 arguing its sports event contracts aren’t gambling at all, Attorney General Peter Neronha countersued hours later arguing they are, and as of this writing a federal judge has heard arguments but issued no ruling — so Kalshi is neither cleared nor blocked. None of this is a way to make money; it’s 21+ entertainment running through one of the most tightly controlled markets in the country, about to loosen by exactly one app.
Questions this list actually answers
What is the best online sportsbook in Rhode Island?
Today, there’s only one legal one to rank: Sportsbook RI, operated by IGT under an exclusive Rhode Island Lottery contract since 2019. Bally Bet becomes the state’s second licensed app on November 26, 2026. DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM hold no Rhode Island license at all, and a Senate bill that would open the market to four to six operators has passed the Senate but not the House.
Is online sports betting legal in Rhode Island?
Yes — Rhode Island authorized it through the 2018 state budget process, with retail wagering launching that November at Twin River Lincoln and Tiverton and mobile betting following in September 2019. It just didn’t open a license queue the way most states did; the Lottery runs the market directly through a single vendor contract, which is why there’s only ever been one app to choose from.
When can I use Bally Bet in Rhode Island?
Not before November 26, 2026. The Rhode Island Lottery awarded Bally’s a tentative five-year license in May 2026 to become the state’s second online sportsbook, but IGT’s exclusivity contract runs until that date, and Bally’s deal bars it from taking a bet earlier regardless of how ready the app is.
Why can’t I use DraftKings or FanDuel in Rhode Island?
Neither holds a Rhode Island license, because Rhode Island never ran the kind of open licensing process that let them apply. DraftKings backed Senate Bill 3118, which would let the Lottery issue four to six vendor licenses starting in 2027 and passed the Senate 30-6 in June 2026 — but it hasn’t cleared the House, and the Lottery’s director has publicly called the expansion likely unconstitutional.
Is Kalshi legal to use in Rhode Island?
That’s being decided in federal court right now, not settled either way. Kalshi sued the state on May 21, 2026 to keep Rhode Island from enforcing its gambling law against Kalshi’s sports event contracts; Attorney General Peter Neronha sued back the same day arguing those contracts are unlicensed sports wagering. A federal judge heard injunction arguments on July 16, 2026 and hadn’t ruled as of this writing, so nothing currently blocks or clears Kalshi for Rhode Island residents.
Is BetOnline.ag safe to use in Rhode Island?
It carries offshore-book safety, not state-regulated safety — roughly two decades of continuous operation and a mostly clean payout record, but no Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation oversight behind it the way Sportsbook RI has. It’s also not one of the operators the Lottery and Department of Revenue pushed out in the 2025 cease-and-desist sweep that ended Bovada’s access to the state.