- A lawsuit was filed in response to Rhode Island legalizing mobile betting.
- The suit says that sports betting needs to go to a referendum to be legalized.
- All of sports betting in Rhode Island could be taken down because of this.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, and it could potentially completely take down sports betting in Rhode Island.
The Details Of The Suit
The suit was orchestrated by the former chair of the Rhode Island Republican party, Brandon Bell. He helped create the lawsuit that was filed by the attorneys of Daniel S. Harrop, a doctor from Providence. Harrop filed the suit through Larisa Law and Fontaine Bell & Associates. Joseph S. Larisa posted on his Twitter account about the suit he filed to the Superior Court.
The lawsuit was filed in a response that mobile sports betting in Rhode Island was legalized. Essentially, the bill is arguing that not only is mobile sports betting unconstitutional in Rhode Island, sports betting as a whole is. This suit is challenging the legality of sports betting in Rhode Island.
Abiding By The State Constitution
Sports betting was legalized in Rhode Island thanks to Governor Gina Raimondo. She included sports betting to her state budget in 2018, which made it legal in the state. It did not legalize mobile wagering though. Because they were behind projections, lawmakers filed and passed RI SB 37 to legalize mobile sports gambling.
The basis of this lawsuit is that sports betting was never legalized by having a statewide vote. Article VI Section 22 of the Rhode Island Constitution states that expansions of gambling must be “approved by the majority of those electors voting in a statewide referendum.” This can be backed up because table games and other forms of gambling were legalized via referendum in the past.
What the lawsuit will effectively do is ask the Superior Court to declare sports betting in Rhode Island unconstitutional. That is until a statewide referendum takes place and sportsbooks are again legalized. Even though this was a response to mobile sports betting becoming legalized, both online and retail sportsbooks in Rhode Island would shut down.
The main issue that the Superior Court is going to have to deal with is how it defines sports betting. New Mexico has legal sports betting because they are defining it as Class III gaming. The challenge is whether adding sports betting is an expansion of gambling, or is it Class III gaming.
For now, sportsbooks are going to remain open. The Superior Court will hear the arguments form the plaintiffs and the defendants, who are listed as the Rhode Island Department of Administration and Rhode Island Division of Lotteries. If the plaintiffs win their case, sports betting in Rhode Island will cease to operate until a statewide referendum is held.