5 Things to Know About Legalization of Sports Betting in Illinois

Wagering on sports has been legalized in Oregon, New York & almost 2 dozen other states

Image courtesy: coolthingschicago.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - All states in the country, including Illinois, were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which played a considerable role in the growth of the sports betting industry in the state.

Sports betting had just been launched in Illinois before the shutdown of major live sports in the state occurred. However, since the return of live sports, the market has been thriving.

Here are 5 things you should know about the recent legalization of sports betting in Illinois:

Lawmakers were for legalized sports betting from day one

Illinois has the milestone Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association Supreme Court decision to thank for legalized sports betting in the state. This Supreme Court decision that was made back in May 2018 paved the way for states across the country to legalize sports betting should they wish to do so.

As a result of this decision, Illinois lawmakers quickly set the ball rolling on leg sports betting regulation in the state. They started by filing 2 bills, both of which were titled the Sports Wagering Act. in the Illinois General Assembly in 2018.

Senate Bill 3432 was introduced by Democratic Senator Napoleon Harris, Ill– who was previously a linebacker in the National Football League while House Bill 5186 was introduced by Republican Representative Tim Butler.

Sports betting was legalized in 2019 when the legislation approved SB690, which effectively allowed Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign it into law in June 2019. This would not have been possible without the fierce support that both bills received.

It also helped that Governor J.B. Pritzker has always been open about his desire to bring sports betting into the state-a point of view that he often spoke about during his campaign. As such, legalized sports betting would not be a reality in the state were it not for the incredible support of lawmakers and state legislators.

Other states haven’t been so lucky when it comes to the legalization of sports betting. Most have been held back by red tape and local political disputes between rival gambling interests that have left parties stalemated on the legalization. Examples of states that remain at odds when it comes to legalized sports betting include California and Massachusetts.

The state of in-person registration

However, thanks to the pandemic which forced people to stay at home, Illinois governor issued an Executive Order which temporarily allowed punters in the state to register for betting accounts online.

During the summer of 2020, online sportsbooks in Illinois went live with remote registration. However, in-person registration has been repealed several times this year.

As it stands, the future of in-person registration remains unknown but it is clear that it has proven to have negative consequences on the market.

States that have this rule have recorded much smaller handles compared to those that allow their punters to sign up online or vial their mobile devices.

7 casinos offer sports betting

Some of the casinos offering legal sports betting in the state include:

• Hollywood Aurora
• Fairmount Park
• Hawthorne Race Course
• Hollywood Juliet
• Penn’s National Argosy
• Eldorado Resorts’ Grand Victoria
• Boyd’s Par-A-Dice

The Illinois sports betting market is one of the fastest-growing

The betting market in the state is growing so fast that experts predict that Illinois could rival the Nevada sports betting market in a couple of years.

Gamblers have so far put down more than $61.8 million statewide from the time the state took its first bet. The handle shot up in July as soon as major American sports kicked back into full gear after months of dormancy.

In the future, analysts have predicted that bettors in the state could be shelling out as much money as Nevada or maybe even more. According to a prediction made by consulting firm Global Market Advisors $5.2 billion could be wagered on sports in Illinois by 2023. This will be made possible by the state’s strong sports tradition.

Plus, Illinois has amazing teams in all major sports leagues, which will further help to generate the fervor surrounding legal sports betting. All over the country, sports betting continues to grow thanks to mobile betting apps.

The situation is not any different in the state where more than 90% of the handle being placed online is through Rivers, which has stood as the state’s most lucrative casino for a long time.

The 18-month rule

They’ve worked their way out of the penalty box by partnering with casinos and registering customers online thanks to the series of executive orders issued by Pritzker allowing bettors to sign up for betting accounts on their phones instead of in person at a brick and mortar casino, as is required in the law.

For instance, FanDuel has partnered up with the Par-A-Dice Casino, allowing the popular sportsbooks to operate a retail book at the casino. DraftKings also entered into a partnership with the Casino Queen, to become the 2nd mobile sports betting app to launch in the state, bringing the total to 3 (the other is BetRivers).

With such partnerships, these sportsbooks that are headquartered outside Illinois have been able to avoid the 18-month long period for mobile-only licenses. Like most other states with legal mobile betting, wagering is only permitted within state lines.

Source: Salem-News.com Special Features Dept.