Arizona reported year-on-year growth across revenue and handle in March. However, Rhode Island saw revenue slip to an eight-month low in April.

Starting with Arizona, which reports its monthly results at a delayed rate compared to other states. All other US states are currently publishing results for April, whereas Arizona has just released an update for March. 

During March, player spending amounted to $759.8m (£595.7m/€700.3m). This is 17.8% up from $644.8m in the same month last year. It is also 19.2% ahead of $637.5m in February of this year.

Players wagered a total of $752.4m online and $5.3m at retail sportsbooks. A further $2.1m was bet through limited event wagering (LEW) operators in Arizona.

In terms of revenue, gross event wagering before the impact of free bets hit $57.5m. After deducting $19.5m in free bets, this left $38.0m in adjusted revenue, up 2.4% year-on-year and 35.7% ahead of February’s $28.0m.

Of this total, $37.2m of all adjusted revenue came from online wagering. Retail contributed just $690,469 to the total, with LEW’s share at $117,277.

Arizona generated $3.7m in tax from sports betting in March while players won $700.5m.

FanDuel retains the lead in Arizona

Looking at individual operators, Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel remains the leader in the Arizona online market. During March, it posted $23.7m in revenue from $265.1m in wagers.

DraftKings placed second with $18.1m in online revenue off a $255.3m handle. BetMGM followed in third with $7.4m in revenue from $94.0m in total bets.

As for the retail market, DraftKings took top spot with $1.9m in revenue, ahead of FanDuel on $1.9m, DraftKings processed $2.2m in retail wagers, compared to FanDuel on $1.8m.

Finally, in terms of LEW operators, TP Racing (Surf Paradise), was the clear winner, posting $1.1m in revenue. This accounts for more than half the LEW revenue total in March.

Rhode Island revenue down despite handle holding steady

Turning now to Rhode Island, total player spending on sports betting in April hit $37.7m. This is marginally higher than $35.5m in the same month last year but 16.0% behind $44.9m in March this year.

Players spent $31.4m betting online during the month as well as $6.3m at retail sportsbooks. The retail figure is split across two locations in Rhode Island: Twin River ($4.6m) and Tiverton Casino ($1.7m).

As for revenue, the monthly total in the state hit $2.7m. This is 10.0% behind $3.0m last year and 12.9% less than $3.1m in March.

Online betting accounted for just under $2.6m of this total, with $171,658 coming from the retail market. Twin River generated $76,942 in retail revenue, with Tiverton Casino at $94,716.

Players won $35.0m from sports betting in April, including $28.8m online.

Year-to-date handle nears $400.0m

Looking at Rhode Island in the year to date, total player spend for the 10 months to the end of April is $388.6m. This comprises $309.5m in online bets and $79.0m from retail wagering, including $52.0m from Twin River and $27.0m from Tiverton Casino.

As for revenue, this amounted to $32.6m in the same period. Of this, $26.5m came from the online sector and $6.1m retail (Twin River $3.9m and Tiverton Casino $2.2m).

In terms of player winnings, bettors in Rhode Island took away $356.0m from sports betting in the 10-month period.

Consumers in Rhode Island are now also able to access igaming after the state’s legal market opened in March. 

Bally’s customers can play slots and table games via desktop or iOS mobile app. Games are available to players who are at least 21 and have an online or mobile account with Bally’s.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation has one less bridge problem on its hands after state coastal regulators approved a plan to reconstruct a pair of East Bay Bike Path bridges on Tuesday night.

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council’s (CRMC) 5-2 vote ends a yearslong series of roadblocks to replacing the aging bridges spanning the Palmer and Bristol rivers on the Barrington-Warren line. Councilmembers Kevin Flynn and Stephen Izzi voted in opposition.

The late-19th century railroad bridges along the Bristol-Warren section of the East Bay Bike Path have been blocked off since 2019, when RIDOT deemed them unsafe. But replacing them has been an uphill battle marked by the usual construction woes of rising costs and time crunches, along with a more unusual obstacle: local anglers.

The state agency in its initial April 2023 application to the CRMC — which must sign off on tidal and coastal water-adjacent construction and permitting — said the new bridges were “not conducive to fishing access.” The new steel trestle replacements are higher to address navigational concerns from the U.S. Coast Guard and narrower to avoid interference with overhead power lines. But losing four feet of width from the 275-foot and 250-foot pair of bridges also meant losing the designated sidewalks flanking either side of the cycling lane, where striped bass fishermen flocked to reel in their catches.

Anglers rallied to save their prime fishing spot, sharing their concerns at a CRMC meeting in October 2023. Heeding their cries, the CRMC pumped the brakes on RIDOT’s application, demanding it clarify plans for fishing and boating safety.

Forced to reevaluate, RIDOT submitted a revised application in February. The amended project reprises the same bridge designs, but offered a separate timber fishing pier and bulkhead as adjacent, designated fishing spots for local anglers. Since the initial revision, RIDOT has further modified its plans, moving the fishing pier adjacent to the Barrington River from the east to west bank after new objections were raised by area property owners, including Barrington’s Atlantic Marine, which sits nestled between the Barrington River bridge and one running parallel along Route 114.

Yet old concerns still bubbled up, with new ones close behind. Michael Woods, chairman of New England Chapter Board of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, submitted a new objection to coastal regulators on the heels of RIDOT’s revised proposal, explaining that the fishing pier and bulkhead were not an equal replacement for the bridge option.

Not only are the bankside fishing spots smaller, and can fit fewer anglers at a time, but the strong current along the shoreline means anglers cannot cast their lines out directly in front of them without eventually getting tangled up in one another, Woods told the council in comments Tuesday.

And that’s before the “hectic and hurried” moment when someone catches a fish and is frantically trying to reel it in.

“The number of people the site can accommodate is drastically reduced,” Wood said.

Meanwhile, Jane Mainella, who owns Atlantic Marine with her family, continued to contest the lack of backout space for boats leaving the marina, especially amid stronger currents that have intensified since the existing bridges and pilings were demolished last year. 

A hydraulic analysis by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, which along with Aetna Bridge was awarded the $24 million design-build contract for the bridge project in 2022, showed that the current had indeed grown stronger since the old bridge was demolished. However, building a new bridge will again contain the current, diminishing back to its prior strength, the analysis found.

Because of this study, the current concerns were not substantive under coastal regulations, according to the CRMC staff report by Amy Silva, a senior environmental specialist. Silva’s May 13 report to the council also dismissed other concerns from property owners and Woods as similarly failing to rise to the level of concern required by coastal rules.

While the rebuild plan now includes separate fishing areas, fishing will not be expressly prohibited on the bridges, said Andres Aveledo, project manager for Aetna.

However, not all council members were easily persuaded. Council member Kevin Flynn bombarded RIDOT with questions about why the design-build contract was put out to bid for a narrower width replacement without first securing the environmental approvals necessary, as required by the Federal Highway Administration.

“I would question whether this was the right method,” Flynn said.

Councilmember Don Gomez pointed to the litany of conflicting evidence between contractors and the Atlantic Marine owners around safety and space for boaters as potential cause for postponing a decision, though he ultimately approved the required permits and special exception.

“It’s a little sketchy to me,” he said.

The replacement bridges are expected to be completed and open for cycling, pedestrian use and fishing by 2026, according to RIDOT’s website. Loren Doyle, RIDOT’s chief operating officer, said the agency will have to reevaluate its timeline based on the CRMC decision when asked Tuesday night for an updated completion date.

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI — Ocean State Job Lot, with the help of its customers, donated 1,800 bicycles to children of military families across the northeast with the launch of its “Buy-Give-Get” program.

The initiative, which ran from May 14 to May 22, invited customers to buy a children’s bike for $100 at any Ocean State Job Lot store, give it back to the store, and get a $100 Crazy Deal Gift Card for future purchases.

“We’re deeply grateful to our loyal customers for their incredible support of our first-ever ‘Buy-Give-Get’ bikes program,” David Sarlitto, the executive director of Ocean State’s nonprofit arm, said. “Thanks to their generosity, we’re able to bring joy and the simple pleasure of riding a bike to children whose parents have sacrificed so much.”

An Ocean State spokesperson said the donated bikes will be distributed with the help of partners such as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, USA Veterans, and other veteran services. Significant events include donations at Vets Fest in Philadelphia and at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where bikes will be given to the children of recovering veterans.

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