Summary:
- The bill would allow credit limits to reach $100,000.
- The House will consider the measure this Thursday.
- Bally’s requested the introduction of the new bill.
A new bill is quickly moving through Rhode Island legislation, centered around a credit extension for casinos operated by Bally’s in the state.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio is on board, along with other lawmakers, with the decision to extend the limit for gambling-on-credit at the two gaming venues to $100,000. The House will consider its version of the measure this Thursday.
Introduced This Month
Senate Bill 3040 was introduced on May 2 and is a wide-ranging bill to increase the credit limits for high rollers. Before allowing the larger limit, lawmakers must consider whether the bill is a good idea and whether Bally’s will be able to determine if gamblers can afford the limit and are not taking out more cash as part of gambling addiction.
Ruggerio introduced the bill some two months after the bill-introduction deadline in the Senate. The legislation was added late in the game at the request of the casino operator. Bally’s wants to raise the limit to stay in competition with other casinos in nearby Massachusetts.
This Thursday, the House will hold a hearing to consider the matching version of the Senate bill. The House measure also seeks to give the Department of Business Regulation the authority to change the terms of the state’s operating agreement with Bally’s without the need for legislative approval.
A few senators are not on board as the new language was not noted in blue coloring as it should have been, and they feel strongly that this type of change, along with any other gambling issues, must have legislative approval.
Why Extend the Credit Limit?
Elizabeth Suever, a representative of Bally’s, explained that the casinos need to remain competitive in the region. They need to focus on offering services that can compete with those of neighboring states such as Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Bally’s who launched online online gambling earlier this year already has high-limit gaming rooms but does not offer the same credit options as players in other states like Massachusetts. In the neighboring state, there is no credit limit, so players can take out as much as they like on credit. In Connecticut, the casinos are operated by tribes, so they can issue the amount of credit they see fit.
Suever pointed out that extending the credit limit to $100,000 from $50,000 would be an amenity as the player would not need to carry a high cash limit to play games. The higher credit option would reportedly be extended to a limited amount of players.
The new bill also includes negotiations between the state lottery and Bally’s to configure the debt ratio and would change the way promotional points are calculated. The measure considers several aspects of the gambling industry. We shall see this week if the House is on the same page as the Senate or if additional changes will be made to the bill before it moves forward.
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