COVID-19 Restrictions in Rhode Island Putting Casinos at Disadvantage

By Jerry Smith Staff Writer Updated: 02/17/2021

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COVID-19 Restrictions in Rhode Island

According to a senior executive from Bally’s Corp., COVID-19-related restrictions in Rhode Island are continuing to have a damaging impact on casinos in the area. In fact, Marc Crisafall, a senior executive from the corporation, said that the state’s casinos were now at a competitive disadvantage.

While some states have lifted stricter COVID-19 restrictions relating to opening hours, there are still curfews in place in Rhode Island. Bally’s operates the two casinos in the area for the Rhode Island Lottery. The casinos are the Tiverton Casino Hotel and the Twin Rivers Casino, Lincoln.

Curfew Continues to Cause Issues

According to Crisafall, the continued curfew is causing real issues for the casinos and means that they are now at a disadvantage because other nearby states can operate around the clock again. He said:

We have capacity limitations, obviously all sorts of health and sanitary protocols, which will continue. But the curfew is a limiting factor for us. From a competitive standpoint, we’re at a real disadvantage right now.

Due to the ongoing situation with the global pandemic, the casinos in Rhode Island have to close at 10.00 pm from Sunday to Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays, they must close at 10.30 pm. However, while there were curfews in place in some other neighboring states, many have had them lifted and can now operate on a 24-hour basis again.

This could result in more people who want to gamble at casinos heading to other states to do this, particularly at weekends, when people tend to enjoy late-night entertainment at these venues. In the meantime, the Rhode Island casinos will continue to miss out until the curfew on operating times is lifted.

Casinos Will Not Challenge the Decision

While the casino operator is disappointed that around the clock operations cannot resume yet, Crisafall did confirm that they would not be challenging the decision to keep the curfew in place for now.

He said that the state had provided guidance on what was safe for the general public and that the group would be adhering to this and would not be challenging the decision on the curfew.

However, he did also state that with states to the north and northwest of the area having lifted curfews so that casinos could reopen fully, the Rhode Island properties would struggle to compete.

Second Wave Continues to Cause Huge Issues

While the summer months brought good news as infection and death rates plunged following the first wave of the pandemic, over recent months, the situation has escalated. The second wave of COVID-19 has been wreaking havoc across the country, and this has been made worse by the threat of new, more infectious strains of the virus.

As a result, businesses including casinos have once again suffered. Various states have had to implement curfews and closures in response to rising infection and death rates. Many are now pinning their hopes on the success of the ongoing vaccination program in the hope that it will bring them closer to normality.