Untapped potential in Rhode Island sports betting market; IGT CEO Hector Fernandez outlines his vision for the new IGT; Record iGaming revenue for New Jersey in May; Ilitch Companies establishes new gaming division; plus the week’s other news from North America.
Rhode Island sports betting: untapped potential
Rhode Island is considering legislation that would open up its high-tax, monopoly sports betting market to competition.
Online sports betting is certainly underperforming in the Ocean State compared with its neighbours.
Monthly online sports betting struggles to rise above $40 million in Rhode Island and its first quarter handle was down by 13 per cent from Q1 2025.
Rhode Island’s win per capita in 2025 was just $39 and only ahead of Oregon and Arkansas in states where data is available.
Maryland
Maryland’s sports wagers showed 6 per cent growth in May to $535.4 million, as a 6 per cent rise in mobile betting to $526.2 million offset a 10 per cent decline in retail betting to $9.2 million. Parlay betting was $217.7 million in May, ahead of basketball wagering of $119.7 million and baseball bets of $67.7 million. Monthly betting revenue fell by 1 per cent to $65.8 million, with mobile revenue up by 1 per cent to $65.2 million and retail betting declining by 62 per cent to $583,595.
Michigan
Gross revenue from online sports betting and iGaming in Michigan grew by 27 per cent in May to $382.5 million, the best month of 2026 so far. iGaming reported a 22 per cent increase in gross revenue to $305.8 million, while online sports betting revenue was 54 per cent higher at $76.7 million. Adjusted revenue from iGaming rose by 24 per cent to $293.5 million but was down by 35 per cent for sports betting to $23.3 million due to a $15.9 million loss for new market entrant bet365.
New Jersey
New Jersey’s gambling revenue grew by 2 per cent to $627.1 million in May, with iGaming the source of almost all revenue growth as revenue rose 12 per cent to a new monthly record of $276.3 million. Revenue from land-based casinos remained unchanged from the previous year at $265.6 million, with growth in slot machines offset by a decline in table gaming. Sports betting revenue dropped by 17 per cent to $85.2 million, comprising a 15 per cent decrease in online betting to $83.7 million and a 67 per cent fell in retail betting to $1.5 million.
Connecticut
Sports and iGaming wagering in Connecticut grew by 3 per cent in May to $1.97 billion, as iGaming wagers increased by 3 per cent to $1.79 billion. Sports betting rose by 2 per cent to $188.0 million, with online betting climbing 3 per cent to $180.8 million, offsetting a 12 per cent decline in retail to $7.3 million. iGaming’s gross win was up by 4 per cent to $63.9 million, while sports betting revenue dropped by 17 per cent to $18.6 million, at an overall margin of 9.9 per cent.
Indiana
Indiana’s sportsbooks took $428.2 million in total wagers for May, but this was a year-on-year fall of 1 per cent. Online betting dropped by 1 per cent to $420.5 million and retail betting was down by 13 per cent to $7.7 million. Parlay betting was the largest category of wagering on $141.1 million, while basketball wagering fell by 15 per cent to $96.2 million and baseball bets were 10 per cent lower at $69.3 million. Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) was above $50 million for the time in 2026 at $50.2 million.
Iowa
Iowa’s sports wagers decreased by 6 per cent in May to $191.1 million and was below $200 million for the first time since August 2025. There was a 5 per cent fall on online sports betting to $181.5 million and the state’s smaller retail betting was down by 17 per cent to $9.6 million. Total betting revenue rose by 4 per cent to $20.8 million, as the monthly margin improved by 1 percentage point to 10.9 per cent, the highest margin of the year.
Vermont
Vermont posted a 14 per cent decline in sports wagers for May to $14.0 million, with falls in several key sports. Basketball betting was down by 17 per cent to $3.3 million and baseball’s betting fell by 26 per cent to $2.6 million. Wagering on ‘other’ unspecified sports increased by 18 per cent to $5.8 million. Despite the drop in wagers, sports betting gross revenue increased by 4 per cent to $2.0 million, at a margin of 14.0 per cent.
Virginia
Virginia’s land-based casinos had their best month for revenue in May with growth of 27 per cent to $108.4 million. There were 5,334 slot machines and 283 gaming tables installed in the state’s five casinos, and both sectors earned record revenue. Revenue from slot machines increased by 25 per cent to $79.6 million, while the gaming tables saw a 31 per cent rise to $28.7 million.
Washington DC
Washington DC’s sports wagers dropped by 10 per cent in May to $67.2 million, making it the lowest total since August 2025. Leading operator FanDuel had a 14 per cent fall in wagering to $27.2 million, and was ahead of FanDuel’s $20.5 million. Overall betting revenue fell 4 per cent to $7.7 million, with FanDuel generating 58 per cent of the total with $4.5 million.
Missouri
Gaming revenue at Missouri’s land-based casinos topped $180 million in May and was up by 3 per cent to $183.3 million. All of the growth came from slot machines as revenue increased by 6 per cent to $160.8 million. Table gaming revenue was 15 per cent lower at $22.4 million. There were 13 casinos active and they had total admissions of 2.52 million, up by 1 per cent.
Maine
Sports wagers in Maine grew by 2 per cent in May to $41.0 million but was the state’s lowest total since July 2025. Gross win from sports betting fell by 7 per cent to $5.1 million, leading to a 7 per cent drop in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) to $4.8 million. Monthly online betting showed less than 1 per cent growth to $40.4 million, with gross win declining 8 per cent to $5.0 million. Wagering in the retail sector soared 163 per cent to $597,784 and gross win doubled to $72,065.
In the state’s land-based sector, Maine’s two casinos reported a 1 per cent fall in combined gaming revenue for May to $14.9 million. The drop in revenue was caused by a 16 per cent fall in table gaming revenue to $1.9 million, while slot machine revenue increased by 2 per cent to $13.0 million. Market leader Oxford Casino’s revenue was down by 5 per cent to $8.7 million, while Hollywood Casino had a 6 per cent increase to $6.2 million.
Kansas
Kansas’ sports wagering fell by 16 per cent to $168.1 million in May and was the state’s lowest total since August 2024. Online wagering dropped by 15 per cent to $166.2 million, while retail betting was down by 52 per cent to its lowest ever monthly total of $2.0 million. Monthly gross revenue declined by 23 per cent to $17.7 million, of which $17.4 million came from online betting and $322,501 from retail activity.
In the state’s land-based sector, Kansas’ gaming revenue increased by 6 per cent in May to $39.8 million, the best month since early 2019. Kansas Star took the lead with an 8 per cent rise in revenue to $16.3 million, beating Hollywood Casino on $15.5 million, up 4 per cent. Boot Hill Casino revenue rose 7 per cent to $4.2 million, while Kansas Crossing Casino’s revenue was 2 per cent higher at $3.8 million.
Illinois
Back into April, Illinois’ video lottery terminals (VLTs) recorded a 5 per cent rise in wagering to $3.18 billion. There were 49,453 terminals in operation, which was 727 more than in April 2025. VLT revenue increased by 7 per cent to $294.6 million and meant that monthly tax rose to $103.1 million. Monthly tax revenue was split $88.9 million for the state and $14.2 million for municipalities.
Arizona
Sports wagers in Arizona fell below $740 million in April and was down by 1 per cent at $737.2 million, the lowest total in eight months and split $734.4 million from mobile and $2.8 million from retail. FanDuel was just ahead of DraftKings by mobile wagers of $213.9 million versus $213.8 million, but both declined year-on-year. Mobile betting win climbed by 23 per cent to $82.1 million, with FanDuel contributing $28.6 million and DraftKings $24.9 million.
In an exclusive interview with Gaming Intelligence, IGT chief executive Hector Fernandez outlines his vision for the new IGT and how he plans to lead the company back to the top.
Ilitch Companies is expanding its casino interests with the acquisition of Scarlet Pearl Casino in Mississippi and Ocean Casino in New Jersey.
Churchill Downs Inc. is no longer acquiring the intellectual property of the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes after the state of Maryland stepped in as a buyer.
Online investment company Wealthsimple is launching a new prediction market platform in Canada by partnering with Kalshi.
US District Judge Paul L. Maloney issued a forceful judgment to deny Polymarket’s request for a preliminary injunction after Michigan state regulators argued that its sports-event contracts amount to unlicensed gambling under state law.
This week’s games and platform integrations round-up features Play’n GO, Pragmatic Play, Yggdrasil, Galaxsys, PopOK Gaming, Bragg and 1spin4win.
Kentucky Attorney General Russel Coleman filed lawsuits against three illegal gambling operators, including prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket.
New Jersey has joined a growing list of states pushing to regulate prediction markets, with a bill introduced that would set rules for the industry within state lines rather than leaving the matter entirely to federal regulators.
Blackhawk Network has launched its Game On gaming gift cards in Ontario’s regulated online betting and gaming market.
Pollard Banknote has been preliminarily selected to provide a new digital lottery platform for the Colorado Lottery.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has filed a request with the First Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, seeking that Kalshi be held in contempt for failing to comply with a prior court order.
A group of leading prediction market operators have joined forces to file a lawsuit against Kentucky’s new prediction markets tax.
Great Canadian Entertainment has completed the sale of River Rock Casino Resort in British Columbia.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sued New Mexico, just after the state’s attorney general filed an illegal gambling lawsuit against Kalshi.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has lauded the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling that “skill games” are illegal under the state’s Crimes Code and Gaming Act.
Red Rock Resorts has appointed J. Colby Williams as the company’s new executive vice president and general counsel, succeeding the retiring Jeffrey Welch.
The CFTC has approved Ludlow Exchange, operating as US-focused betting exchange operator Novig, as a designated contract market.
The Illinois Lottery grew sales to $312.2 million in April, which was a year-on-year rise of just 1 per cent.
Kalshi has signed an official partnership with the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA), the governing body of Argentina’s national football team and the reigning FIFA World Cup champions.
The CFTC has appointed Donald Battle as chief data innovation officer and J Matthew Haws as senior advisor to the Chairman’s Office.
RubyPlay has added Fanatics Betting and Gaming as its newest customer in New Jersey.
Fast Track is providing its customer engagement platform to Meridianbet, a subsidiary of Meridian Holdings.
Comtrade Gaming has agreed a platform deal with 7bet in Europe, as well as a deal to power Canadian Bank Note in Central America.
BetMakers Technology Group has signed a long-term extension to continue providing its global racing wagering solutions to gambling operator evoke.