Rhode Island bill would allow casinos to double gamblers’ credit

Bally’s hopes to increase the credit it can issue gamblers from $50,000 to $100,000

Rhode Island Senate President Dominick Ruggerio is backing legislation to allow Bally’s-operated Rhode Island casinos to double their gambling credit limits to $100,000. However, many interested parties have concerns about the latest proposal. 

According to The Providence Journal, some of the points in question include Bally’s and tribal casinos’ capacity to monitor customer gambling activity and the overall impact of the new legislation. 

Elizabeth Suever of Bally’s voiced her support of the bill proposed on May 2 before the Senate Committee on Special Legislation, saying, “Obviously, we’re not interested in extending lines of credit to those individuals who would not be able to pay it back.” 

State-run gambling is Rhode Island’s third biggest source of tax revenue and is expected to generate $428.8 million in 2024. 

Representatives from the Rhode Island Lottery and the Council on Problem Gambling were absent from last week’s hearing on the legislation submitted beyond the deadline set by Ruggerio. “The bill was introduced at the request of Bally’s to keep them on par with competition from casinos in Massachusetts,” explained a Ruggerio spokesman.

A similar House bill will be heard by a committee on Thursday. It also authorizes the Department of Business Regulation to modify Bally’s current agreement without lawmakers’ approval.

Suever noted that players have complained that they want credit levels similar to those in Massachusetts, which has no limit. She proposes doubling Rhode Island’s limit to $100,000, saying it would be “an amenity for our players that play very high limits because they don’t want to be carrying that amount of cash on their person as they’re coming and going from the casino.”

Suever emphasized that the increase would involve a “very, very limited amount of players” and be restricted to in-person gambling only.