Bally's Twin River rolling out virtual casino games in RI

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LINCOLN − On the second floor of Bally's Twin River, the company's newest, most technologically advanced table games are hidden behind a locked door, down a windowless hallway with black walls and black carpet.

There, red felt roulette and blackjack tables sit under the glare of television studio spotlights, their dealers turning cards, spinning wheels and staring straight into the video cameras.

This is what "iGaming" looks like: real life casino dealers playing virtual casino games inside a real life physical casino.

On Tuesday, Rhode Islanders should be able to play these games on their mobile phones or computers anywhere in the state.

And by next year, the state expects to collect $25 million per year from this latest expansion of legal betting, the state's third-largest revenue source. Under favorable estimates, Bally's iGaming could generate more than $40 million per year within the next five years.

Gamblers will play these new virtual games − including 170 virtual slot games on top of the table games − on a standalone Bally's app.

"When you think about it, there are a lot of people that just don't want to travel to a casino for various reasons," Craig Eaton, president of Bally's Rhode Island, told The Journal in a training room for dealers off just down the hall from the new iGaming studio. "They could be far away down in the South County area, for instance, or maybe they're intimidated by just being in a casino or playing, sitting in a table game."

Rhode Island lawmakers authorized iGaming last summer and within a couple of months Bally's went to work transforming a corner of the casino that once hosted slot machines into the iGaming studio. The work cost around $5 million, Bally's spokeswoman Patti Doyle said.

That expense, along with the cost of employing live, union dealers to host iGaming, is obviously not the cheapest way to offer mobile virtual gambling, especially in a world of sophisticated artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

But Eaton said experienced table games players prefer a live, human dealer. Bally's iGaming system will allow the dealers to speak to players at the virtual tables with the players able to communicate with the dealers through a chat function.

Perhaps more important were the legal considerations.

Last year Bally's initially proposed entirely virtual iGaming, but faced concerns that it would require voter approval under the state constitution's rules or expanding casino gambling. The live "simulcast" plan was developed as a workaround.

New Jersey, where Bally's also has a presence, employs a similar live iGaming setup, Eaton said.

On Friday, Bally's plans to "soft launch" its new iGaming app on an invitation-only basis to some of its casino regulars.

Assuming all goes well and the Rhode Island Lottery signs off, the iGaming app will go live to the general public at noon on Tuesday, March 5.

In response to concerns about problem gambling, Bally's is making iGaming available only to customers who are at least 21 years old, compared to 18 years old to get into the regular casino.

The app also allows players to set deposit limits, session limits and wager limits that don't exist in the real life casino. You can also set limits on screen time.

Lawmakers allowed iGaming partly to combat gambling competition from Massachusetts, which has opened new casinos in recent years and legalized sports betting. Unlike in Rhode Island, where there is only one sports betting app run by IGT, Massachusetts allows multiple national gambling sites to operate.

This year, Rhode Island sports betting revenue is expected to fall around $5.5 million from last year. However, budget writers expect to get about $2 million of that sports betting revenue back next year.