While so-called “high rollers” account for a fraction of total gambling revenue, they are among the most coveted customers for casinos. This same dynamic may be true for Rhode Island lawmakers in how they view the state’s big-ticket companies.
Citizens Financial Group Inc. persuaded legislators earlier this month to change how banks are taxed after it hinted it might have to move at least some operations to Massachusetts. Providence-based Bally’s Corp. also received a helping hand in the final days of the General Assembly session.
Co-sponsored by Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, a bill upping how much money patrons at Bally’s two casinos in Rhode Island can receive on credit from $50,000 to $100,000 overwhelmingly passed before the summer recess.
The argument by Bally’s and Smith Hill proponents was the same as Citizens’: Our neighbors are doing it.
Both Massachusetts and Connecticut – the latter including tribal-run Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino that are about an hourlong drive from Providence –do not have any credit limits.
Bally’s Vice President of Government Relations Elizabeth Suever said the legislation “was largely driven by the need to remain competitive in the New England gaming market.
“And many of our customers requested the increase,” she said, declining to disclose projected revenue figures or how many customers would be affected because it is proprietary.
Legal gaming remains the state’s third-largest revenue source, with number-crunchers projecting close to $429 million in gambling revenue this year, mostly from Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort and Tiverton Casino & Hotel.
Bill sponsor Rep. Gregory J. Costantino, D- Lincoln, testified during a House Committee on Finance hearing in May that in addition to concerns over border competition, credit allowances are “an amenity for our players that play in high-limit areas” and these six-figure markers mean “they do not need to carry large amounts of money at the casinos.”
But Costantino acknowledged the change was “more to keep the high rollers ... in play so they don’t leave and go to other casinos.”
The measure retains a multipronged vetting process. Players must file an application and allow Bally’s to verify bank accounts and credit histories. Borrowers may have their history at other casinos scrutinized and those on any exclusion or self-exclusion databases will be prohibited.
The R.I. Lottery did not take a position on the credit increase. Lottery spokesperson Paul Grimaldi pointed to state law requiring Bally’s to pay for “no less” than $200,000 in aggregate annually for compulsive and problem-gambling programs and $50,000 annually for education and prevention programs, which combined totaled $633,650 in fiscal 2023.
But the arguments regarding other states and the problem-gambling payments by Bally’s – which in essence are funded partly by the same people gripped by gambling addiction – were not enough to sway Senate Finance Committee member Sen. Linda Ujifusa, D-Portsmouth, one of five senators who voted against the bill.
Ujifusa said the bill should have been accompanied by more robust debate and data on potential outcomes.
While the language spelled out how the credit increase would help certain players, “it did not describe in detail the effects the public law changes would have,” she said.
“The proponents have done a benefits analysis but failed to do a cost-benefit analysis,” she said. “Gambling addiction is at an all-time high and we did not analyze potential additional costs the state has to pay for treatment, taking care of families and other effects of increased addiction.”
