Fanatics Rhode Island: Said It Wanted In, Then Skipped the Bid

Fanatics Rhode Island is not the usual dark-state story of a company that never tried. When the Rhode Island Lottery opened bidding for a second online sportsbook in early 2026, Fanatics was one of the operators publicly named as interested, with a spokesperson saying the company backed "an open and competitive market" for the state. Then the February 19 bid deadline passed, and Fanatics was not one of the two names on the list of actual applicants.

Legal status in Rhode Island

Rhode Island has run sports betting as a single-vendor state contract since retail wagering opened at Twin River Casino on November 26, 2018, with statewide mobile betting following in September 2019. IGT has held that contract from the start, operating as Sportsbook Rhode Island with William Hill (later Caesars) originally supplying odds and risk management; day-to-day operations have since moved toward Bally’s, which bought the Twin River casino business. A 2023 law gave Bally’s its own 20-year exclusive online casino contract, which launched in March 2024 and remains untouched by any sportsbook expansion. Facing warnings from a 2025 Spectrum Gaming report about thin vendor interest under the state’s roughly 51% revenue cut, the Lottery opened bidding for a second online sportsbook license, with proposals due February 19, 2026. Fanatics was named in early coverage among operators weighing a bid and said through a spokesperson that it supported a more open Rhode Island market, but when the deadline passed only two companies had filed: Bally’s and Rush Street Interactive. The Lottery tentatively awarded the second license to Bally’s on May 8, 2026, on a five-year deal that cannot begin taking bets before November 26, 2026, when IGT’s exclusivity lapses. Fanatics holds no sports betting or online casino license in Rhode Island under any arrangement.

State gambling authority: Rhode Island Lottery, a division of the state Department of Revenue, which contracts out sports betting and online casino operations as single-vendor deals rather than licensing competing operators the way most states do.

Fanatics Rhode Island looks, on paper, like it should be a rollout waiting to happen. Fanatics has added states almost every quarter since inheriting PointsBet’s licenses in 2024, and in early 2026 Rhode Island did something it had never done before: it opened a second sportsbook slot. Fanatics was even named as one of the operators circling it. Then the bid window closed, and Fanatics wasn’t on the list of companies that actually applied.

Is Fanatics Legal in Rhode Island? Not Under Either Contract

Rhode Island has never run sports betting as a multi-license market. Since retail wagering opened at Twin River Casino on November 26, 2018, and mobile betting followed in September 2019, the entire market has run through one state-picked vendor, IGT, operating as Sportsbook Rhode Island. A 2025 Spectrum Gaming report warned that the state’s roughly 51% cut of online revenue was scaring off vendor interest, and the Lottery responded by opening bids for a second online sportsbook license, due February 19, 2026. On May 8, 2026, the Lottery tentatively picked Bally’s for that second contract. Fanatics holds neither the original nor the new one.

Named, then absent: early 2026 reporting on Rhode Island’s bid process listed Fanatics among the operators weighing an application, and a company spokesperson said Fanatics backed a more open Rhode Island market. When the February 19 deadline passed, the only two applicants on record were Bally’s and Rush Street Interactive. Fanatics never filed.

Why “Interested” Isn’t the Same as a Bid

Operators float interest in new markets all the time without following through, and the reasons rarely make it into public reporting. Rhode Island’s revenue split has been cited as the likely deterrent for other operators that skipped this bid entirely — the state taking roughly half of gross online revenue is a steep ask next to the 15–20% ranges common in states like New Jersey or Pennsylvania. Whether that math, a capacity decision, or something else kept Fanatics from actually submitting a proposal isn’t public. What is public is the gap between what a spokesperson said and what the Lottery received by the deadline.

No Casino Path Either

Rhode Island’s online casino market is a separate, fully closed contract: Bally’s has held the exclusive rights since a 2023 law, with the product launching in March 2024. That exclusivity doesn’t expire or open for bidding on any schedule tied to the sportsbook RFP. Fanatics Casino’s own footprint — Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia — has never included Rhode Island, and nothing in the 2026 sportsbook process touches the casino side at all.

The timeline that matters more than the bid: Bally’s five-year sportsbook contract can’t take a single wager before November 26, 2026, the date IGT’s original exclusivity runs out. Until then, Sportsbook Rhode Island, under IGT, remains the only legal online sportsbook in the state — for every brand, Fanatics included.

Who It Fits

Nobody in Rhode Island today, if the question is whether a Fanatics account exists to open. The state’s only legal online option is Sportsbook Rhode Island through IGT, with a Bally’s-run second app expected no earlier than late November 2026. Fanatics remains a regulated operator in 23 other states plus D.C., just not here, and not for lack of the Lottery offering a door. Betting is entertainment, not income; if it stops feeling that way, 1-800-GAMBLER.

Fanatics Sportsbook Rhode Island — Frequently Asked Questions

Is Fanatics legal in Rhode Island?

No. Rhode Island runs sports betting through a state-contracted vendor system, not an open license market. IGT has held the sole sportsbook contract since 2018, and the Lottery tentatively awarded a second slot to Bally’s on May 8, 2026 — not Fanatics. Fanatics has no license under either arrangement.

Did Fanatics actually try to get into Rhode Island?

It expressed interest without following through. Fanatics was named in early 2026 coverage of Rhode Island’s plan to open a second sportsbook slot, and a company spokesperson said Fanatics supported a more competitive market there. But when the Lottery’s February 19, 2026 bid deadline passed, the only two applicants on record were Bally’s and Rush Street Interactive. Whether Fanatics decided against the state’s roughly 51% revenue cut or passed for another reason isn’t public — only that it didn’t file.

Is Fanatics legit, even with no Rhode Island license?

Yes, as a company — Fanatics Betting and Gaming runs a regulated sportsbook in 23 states plus Washington D.C. on licenses it acquired along with PointsBet’s US business in an April 2024 deal. Rhode Island’s absence from that map is a market-structure gap, not a sign anything is wrong with how Fanatics operates where it is actually licensed.

Is it safe to use a site calling itself "Fanatics Rhode Island"?

No such licensed product exists, so treat any site or app using that name as unverified. The only legal online sportsbook in Rhode Island today is IGT’s Sportsbook Rhode Island, with a Bally’s-run second option expected no earlier than November 26, 2026. Neither is a Fanatics product.

Does Fanatics have an online casino in Rhode Island?

No. Rhode Island’s only online casino contract belongs exclusively to Bally’s under a 20-year deal that launched in March 2024. Fanatics Casino operates in just four states — Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia — and Rhode Island was never part of that footprint or this contract.

Could Fanatics still get into Rhode Island later?

Only if the state opens a third slot or the Bally’s/Rush Street process falls through. Having passed on the 2026 bid, Fanatics would need the Lottery to run another RFP — nothing on the public record points to one being planned once Bally’s launch, expected around late November 2026, is complete.

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