It was in June last year when Governor JB Pritzker finally signed the bill that will allow the local operations of sports betting in the state of Illinois. Unlike the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania that didn’t take a few months to launch betting after legislation, Illinois is just really taking its time to get things right.
The locals of Illinois, especially the ones who are big on betting, are already looking forward to finally place their bets locally. For a very long time, sports betting has been federally illegal because of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act or PASPA of 1992.
While the operations of sports betting in the US was federally illegal, there was no law that prohibited the Americans from wagering on sports online. This meant that the locals can place bets on sports online as long as the operators are based offshore.
It was in May 2018 when the Supreme Court of the United has finally lifted the ban on sports betting nationwide and allowed each state to decide whether they’d like to legalize it or not. Based on studies, it’s likely that the majority of the states will eventually regulate sports betting. It is predicted that around 40 states will already have sports wagering operations by the end of 2025.
Recently, Governor Pritzker’s secretary has released a statement about the status of the launch of betting in the state. Press Secretary Jordan Abudayyeh has said, “The Governor is pleased that Illinois sportsbooks will open for business by March Madness, generating revenue to rebuild universities, hospitals and other facilities across the state.”
March Madness is set to start on March 17 so this means the state is just a few weeks away from finally launching betting. Both in-person and online betting will be allowed in the state. With this, it is likely that Illinois will reach its target revenue.
Online betting is just really the preference of many people out there. It has many advantages like the convenience and the fact that online bookies are generous with promos and bonuses. You can check SilentBet’s 22Bet Promo Code Guide to see what promos online bookies offer their customers.
The majority of punters or bettors just really seem to wager online and this is evident on how New Jersey is doing in terms of betting revenue. Around 80 to 90 percent of sports wagers in New Jersey are made online.
Even New Yorkers would rather travel to NJ just so they can place their bets online or with their mobile device. They just really prefer to do this rather than drive upstate to place their bets as online betting is still illegal in New York.
As of now, five casinos have already been granted temporary licenses for sports wagering. The Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the Argosy Casino in Alton, and the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin were the first three to get their licenses. Recently, Two Penn National and one of Boyd’s Casinos were also granted their own temporary licenses.
The Fairmont Park racetrack has also already sent its applications, but there is still no update as to when it will receive a temporary permit. These six casinos have the choice to operate in time for March Madness or later than that if there’s a must.
Rockford may also eventually have its own bookie as it is reported that the city will eventually or soon have a new casino. The Hard Rock Casino has no go signal yet from the Illinois Gaming Board just yet, but once this casino is up, it is likely that it will also apply for betting operations.
All 10 casinos in the state are actually allowed to submit applications for betting operations. The three horse racing tracks are also allowed to submit their applications. Up to seven large sports venues can also be granted permits to operate.
The application for the license comes with a price and it’s nothing cheap. Licensing fee costs 10 million US dollars for these casinos. However, these casinos already have the advantage as sports betting giants like FanDuel and DraftKings won’t be allowed to apply for a license for 18 months after the launch of betting in the state.
For now, the neighboring states of Illinois that already have betting, particularly Indiana, are benefitting from the prolonged launch of this activity in the state. There is still no official date as to when betting will really launch in Illinois, but if it is already up and running by March Madness, it will be interesting to see how the state will do as this is one of the biggest in the country.