sports betting contracts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cIn addition, Governor Gina Raimondo appears to have violated R.I.G.L \u00a7\u00a7 36-14-5(d), and 36-14-5(h) by signing legislation, which allowed online sports gambling in Rhode Island and then having the R.I. Lottery avoid the RFP process to select a vendor to manage online sports betting anywhere in Rhode Island by agreeing that IGT, the current provider of in-person sports betting, would handle all online sports betting,\u201d according to the GOP complaint.<\/p>\n
Too Close For Comfort<\/b><\/h2>\n
Ocean State Republicans are also concerned about the relationship between Raimondo and IGT lobbyist Donald Sweitzer. Formerly IGT’s chairman, Sweitzer also currently works for the Democratic Governors Association, of which Raimondo is the leader.<\/p>\n
The state GOP claims that Sweitzer likely owns more than $5,000 worth of IGT stock, meaning the governor cannot award the company a contract unless there is a competitive bidding process.<\/p>\n
If it wins the agreement, IGT would garner about $50 million annually from the Twin River in Lincoln and Tiverton, TRWH’s Rhode Island casinos. TRWH argues that IGT’s machines are out-of-date and produce lower yields than devices made by rival manufacturers.<\/p>\n
The brewing IGT controversy comes at a time of dismal approval ratings for Raimondo. A recent survey by Morning Consult puts the Rhode Island governor’s disapproval rating at 55 percent and her approval mark at 38 percent. Just two governors have lower satisfaction percentages than Raimondo.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Gina Raimondo’s (D-RI) support of International Game Technology Plc (NYSE:IGT) is drawing fresh criticism as the state’s Republican party is complaining to the R.I. Ethics Commission that the governor’s relationship with the gaming machine manufacturer raises conflict of interest concerns. An ethics complaint filed Wednesday by the Rhode Island Republican Party against Raimondo is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":110193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Rhode Island GOP is Going After Gov. Raimondo for her IGT dealings<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n