R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-19-14
Except as provided in chapter 4 of title 41 and excluding activities authorized by the division of lottery under chapters 61 and 61.2 of title 42, any person who shall engage in pool selling or bookmaking, or shall occupy or keep any room, shed, tenement, tent, or building, or any part of them, or shall occupy any place upon any public or private grounds within this state, with books, apparatus, or paraphernalia for the purpose of recording or registering bets or wagers or of buying or selling pools, or who shall record or register bets or wagers or sell pools upon the result of any trial or contest of skill, speed, or power of endurance of man or beast, or upon the result of any political nomination, appointment, or election, or, being the owner or lessee or occupant of any room, tent, tenement, shed, booth, or building, or part of them, knowingly shall permit it to be used or occupied for any of these purposes, or shall keep, exhibit, or employ any device or apparatus for the purpose of recording or registering bets or wagers, or the selling of pools, or shall become the custodian or depositary for gain, hire, or reward of any money, property, or thing of value staked, wagered, or pledged or to be wagered or pledged upon the result, or who shall receive, register, record, forward, or purport or pretend to forward to or for any race course, or person, within or outside this state, any money, thing, or consideration of value bet or wagered, or money, thing, or consideration of value offered for the purpose of being bet or wagered upon the speed or endurance of any man or beast; or who shall occupy any place or building or part of it with books, papers, apparatus, or paraphernalia for the purpose of receiving or pretending to receive, or for recording or registering, or for forwarding or pretending or attempting to forward in any manner whatsoever, any money, thing, or consideration of value bet or wagered or to be bet or wagered for any other person, or who shall receive or offer to receive any money, thing, or consideration of value bet or to be bet at any race track within or without this state, or who shall aid, assist, or abet in any manner in any of the acts forbidden by this section, shall upon conviction be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisonment not exceeding one year, and upon a second conviction of a violation of this section shall be imprisoned for a period not less than one nor more than five (5) years.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-19-14