This changed after 1992, when the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut opened and began to draw money away from the state.Ģ012 So, the authority began to allow video lotter terminals at the racetrack, and in 2012 casino gaming was fully legalized allowing for the development of the Twin River and Newport Grand resorts. While the state’s two subsequent racetracks at Narragansett Park and Lincoln Downs closed down in the 1970s, it was during this decade that the local authority first introduced the state lottery in 1973.ġ980 Further referendums helped to legalize bingo and refine horse betting laws in the state before 1980, although the state resisted any calls to formally regulate offline casinos in the region. 1934 Rhode Island’s gambling history can be traced back to 1934, when voters approved the addition of pari-mutuel betting on horse races.
