Rhode Island, USA: is a legislator being targeted for opposing an iGaming bill?

Garance Limouzy July 4, 2024

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Rhode Island, USA: is a legislator being targeted for opposing an iGaming bill?

In Rhode Island, USA, a state representative, Brandon C. Potter, claims that he is being targeted by Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio for opposing an iGaming bill.

A funded challenger?

Potter, who is running for re-election in September as a representative of the Democratic Party, alleges that his new challenger, Joseph Graziano, has been selected and funded by Ruggerio as a form of retaliation.

The challenger, Graziano, denies these allegations, stating that he was not recruited by the Senate President and accusing Potter of deflecting from his own record. Graziano openly criticised Potter, saying, “It has become clear he’s not the representative that District 16 needs,” and added, “I think he has been ineffective.”

Legislative retaliation

Potter also claims that, after opposing Rhode Island iGaming bill, several of his bills and initiatives were killed by the Senate. According to him, other iGaming opponents were treated similarly.

Legislative records confirm that numerous bills supported by iGaming opponents were killed in the Senate after passing the House. In some instances, the Senate passed almost identical legislation after rejecting the original proposals. For example, Potter championed a bill aimed at reducing the spread of HIV transmission, which died in the Senate, only for a similar bill introduced by a different senator to pass later.

Potter told the Boston Globe that “the culture at the State House has improved a lot over the last four years, but there are still some entrenched powers who rely on fear, intimidation, and threats to maintain their control.”

Senate President Ruggerio denied all claims, stating through his spokesman that the allegation was “petty nonsense.” While legislative retaliation has been common in Rhode Island over the years, the practice has become less common recently.

The debated law

In June 2023, the iGaming bill was voted into law, extending Bally’s land-based casino monopoly into iGaming and making Rhode Island the seventh state to legalise iGaming. The bill,?introduced by Ruggerio, was partly written by the casino operator Bally’s.

Potter was a fervent opponent of the law, calling it “by far the most dangerous piece of legislation I have seen since I’ve been here,” and claimed it enriched large corporations without offering any real benefit.

In June 2024, another bill co-sponsored by Senate President Ruggerio was filed on behalf of Bally’s Corporation. This legislation doubled the maximum line of credit Bally’s could offer to its customers, from $50,000 to $100,000.