The two physical casinos in Rhode Island are seeking increased financial support from the state to enhance their gaming activities, which largely benefit the state government. 

Bally’s Corp., located in Rhode Island, holds a monopoly on physical casino gambling through Bally’s Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton. Most of the casinos' earnings, however, are designated for the state. 

The Lincoln and Tiverton casinos allocate 60% of their video lottery terminal revenue, similar to slot machines, to the Rhode Island General Fund. The state also gathers 15.5% of table game earnings, with an extra 1% allocated for the host community of each casino. 

As legislators in Providence consider laws to make both Bally’s Rhode Island casinos smoke-free, the gaming company argues that the state needs to take additional steps to guarantee that its operations stay profitable and continue supplying essential tax revenue for the government. 

Rhode Island Casino Promotion Agreement 

Given that the Lincoln and Tiverton casinos greatly advantage the state — Rhode Island earns over $350 million each year from their operations — the state grants Bally’s an annual marketing subsidy. The budget now amounts to approximately $4 million annually. 

Bally’s, which firmly contests House Bill 5464 and Senate Bill 188 — laws that would necessitate a ban on indoor tobacco smoking on gaming floors — claims it requires additional promotional funding from Providence to maintain competitiveness amid the impending regulatory challenge. 

Bally’s has effectively persuaded state Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone (D-Providence) and Sens. David Tikoian (D-Lincoln), Hanna Gallo (D-Cranston), and Louis DiPalma (D-Tiverton) to draft and support legislation aimed at increasing its yearly marketing advantage. 

Senate Bill 1112 aims to merge the two casinos into a unified “Consolidated Marketing Program” and increase the limit on the annual funds the state can allocate to the gaming entities. SB1112, based on estimates from the Rhode Island Department of Revenue, is expected to raise the yearly marketing budget by around $2.75 million to nearly $6.75 million. 

The distribution of casino marketing is presently determined by the state's gambling revenue collections but cannot rise by more than 3% within a single year. 

Concerns About Smoking 

Although HB5464/SB188 have not yet cleared a committee in their respective houses, Bally’s stays anxious regarding a potential smoking prohibition. Representatives from Bally's have stated that smoking is essential for maintaining the competitiveness of their properties, given that Rhode Island has gained from smoking bans in casinos in nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut. 

Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, as tribal casinos on sovereign land, have the authority to set their own regulations regarding indoor smoking. Both establishments, however, voluntarily decided to become smoke-free following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Bally's projects that a ban on smoking would result in a loss of $20 million annually in gaming tax revenue for Rhode Island. 

In a February interview, Bryan Hayes, the senior vice president of gaming operations at Foxwoods, informed Casino.org that the outcome concerning the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation's choice to keep its gaming floors free from secondhand smoke is still pending. Hayes stated that Foxwoods entered a “recovery period” after COVID, rendering an “apples-to-apples comparison” ineffective.