Here's why you can't put a bet on the PC Friars during the NCAA's March Madness in RI

March Madness is approaching. The Providence College Friars are almost certain to be a part of it and betting on the NCAA men's basketball tournament is becoming a bigger business every year.

So a potential burst of bets from hometown Providence College fans would seem like a potential gold mine for Rhode Island's state-backed gambling industry.

That's what Senate President Dominick Ruggerio was thinking when he made expanded betting on local teams one of his first legislative priorities this year.

And yet, it is almost certainly not going to happen this year.

Can I legally bet on PC tourney games in Rhode Island?

No. When Rhode Island lawmakers legalized sports betting in 2018, they made betting on in-state college teams forbidden.

At the time people worried that gambling on local teams, especially in a state once the center of mob-controlled bookmaking in New England, might run the risk of bribes and thrown games.

But for many, that seems quaint now with sports betting legal almost everywhere and college athletes allowed to sign lucrative licensing deals.

"That is still an issue that is felt today, but it has been offset," said Steven Hayes, chief legal counsel for Ruggerio.

"Now local college athletes have the ability to earn money from what is known as Name, Image and Likeness income," Hayes said Wednesday testifying in support of allowing wagers in Rhode Island on local teams in tournaments. "So a lot of the pressure those college athletes felt economically has been reversed."

Ruggerio introduced a bill in January that would allow betting in Rhode Island on Rhode Island-based college teams when they are competing in a tournament of at least four teams. Betting on regular season games involving Rhode Island college teams would still be banned.

But despite the Friars' good season putting them in a position to make the tournament this year, the bill isn't going to be fast tracked for March Madness.

“This is a new piece of legislation that has not been heard or considered prior to this session in Rhode Island," Ruggerio said in an email Friday. "While it makes a very small change that brings Rhode Island in line with neighboring states, it is important that it undergo the normal committee review process.”

Does the local college ban include both in-person and mobile bets?

Yes. You can bet legally on sports at Bally's casinos and on the Sportsbook Rhode Island website/mobile app, but both are covered by the ban on local college teams.

The mobile app shuts down if you take it across the border.

Can I drive out of state to bet on PC?

Yes. Massachusetts legalized sports betting this year and mobile betting in the Bay State is slated to launch next Friday, just in time for March Madness.

Massachusetts has a similar ban on bets involving in-state college teams, but none of those teams are good enough to be involved in a postseason tournament anyway.

Unlike Rhode Island, which limits mobile betting to one app run by International Game Technology, Massachusetts is allowing betting on seven different platforms.

If Pawcatuck is more your speed than Seekonk or Attleboro, you can cross the Connecticut border and bet on Providence College there on apps including DraftKings and FanDuel.

Can I bet on URI?

With a 9-20 record as of Friday, this year's tournament is not in the Rams' future.

Can I put money on PC in an office pool?

Legally no, but you'd have to have a pretty massive office pool for law enforcement to ever know or care.

Rep. William O'Brien, D-North Providence, has again this year introduced legislation that would legalize office pools, but the bill has gone nowhere for several years.

Will I ever be able to use one of the national betting apps in Rhode Island?

The Sportsbook RI app is the only game in town right now. It is run by IGT who, with partner Bally's, has a monopoly on the private-sector side of Rhode Island's state-sponsored gambling industry.

IGT's sports betting contract expires in November and it is not entirely clear how Bally's proposal to offer online casino gaming fits into the mobile sports betting picture.

DraftKings and FanDuel, the top two betting apps nationally, have in the past proposed opening Rhode Island online sports wagering to multiple platforms.

Late last month the Sport Betting Alliance, a trade group of which DraftKings and FanDuel are members, hired Capitol Communications to lobby at the State House.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: How to bet on Providence basketball during March Madness in RI