Illinois became the 5th state in the country to usher in legal sports betting when Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the sports wagering bill into law. Legalized sports wagering in Illinois is expected to add more than $200 million monthly to state coffers, which have now been ravished as a result of the pandemic.

Even though Illinois had already legalized sports betting in 2019, things did not get up and running until 2020. It was during the early months of the year that the state allowed its casinos and racetracks to start applying for sports wagering licenses. This was a great first step in getting things moving. However, no operators were able to launch operations until much later in the spring. The first legal sports bet was not made until March 19th, 2020 at Rivers Casino Des Plaines.

Illinois experienced a lot of pressure on the road to legalization. The state’s neighbors and other states in the Midwest were already legalizing the industry. Namely, Tennessee, Montana, Indiana, and Iowa already enjoyed legalized sports wagering before Illinois ever did. Pennsylvania, the Keystone state, as well as New Jersey had also been enjoying sports betting since 2018 when the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead orders.

Challenges exist in the Illinois sports betting market

Illinois has no mobile or online registration

Although the Illinois sports betting market has come a long way since it was first legalized, several challenges are preventing it from scaling. One of the most noteworthy challenges that the state is dealing with is the absence of online and mobile registration. When the state okayed its expanded gaming law to legalize sports wagering, it included mobile wagering.

However, in-person registration was also included as part of the deal until a mobile-only provider is set to be picked. Because of this requirement in the licensure, many operators and potential companies were not as keen on joining the Illinois sports betting market at first as they were on joining markets that have this requirement such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The earliest that a mobile-only provider will be selected and awarded a license will be 2022.

During the pandemic, Governor J.B. Pritzker did make some changes to the licensure that saw punters able to register online rather than in-person as it was before the outbreak. This suspension came in the form of an executive order that saw the state’s 7 casinos acquire Master Sports Wagering licenses for a limited time.

As a result of this executive order, Rivers Casino in Des Plaines became the first casino in Illinois to offer online registration. As brick and mortar casinos remained closed as a result of the pandemic, in-state bettors flocked to the platform to cure their wagering itch. But online-registration lasted only for so long as it was later suspended after several months in September.

Remote registration was later on introduced and extended into January 2021. As such, any new punter that wants to open an account doesn’t have to show up in person at their sportsbook of choice to register as infection cases surge in Illinois.

Before the executive order was placed and extended several times, state law required in-person registration for 18 months. Eventually, the plan is to allow bettors to register on their phones long-term but the procedural framework is still being set up by the authorities.

The Illinois sports betting Bill is complex

The sports betting bill was designed to allow the rapid growth of sportsbooks in the state. The state’s sports betting bill permits any casinos and racetracks in the state to apply for a sports betting license. This made it possible for all 7 seven stadiums in the state to apply for sports betting licenses.

Today, sports stadiums now offer sports wagering within their building. Now as the market continues to grow, the state is expected to generate upwards of $80 t0 90 million in taxable revenue in 2021.

The sports betting law in Illinois also allows for up to 6 new casinos to be constructed in the state. But because of the extremely high licensing fees that operators have to grapple with, many are unwilling to move their business into the state. If Illinois’ legal sports betting industry is to take off as it has in other states such as New Jersey, the authorities are going to have to offer prospective entrants a little more incentive.

Sports revenue continues to soar

Despite the obvious challenges, the good news is that the Illinois sports betting revenue has been doing impressively well. Since it launched in March 2020, the revenue has grown from month to month to become one of the biggest states to watch out for in the sports betting realms.

Case in point, the total handle in the state for October 2020 came in at more than $434 million, breaking the previous month’s record by more than 40%. As you can expect, mobile sports betting dominated the industry and will likely continue to do so for a while. Even though retail sportsbooks have since resumed operations albeit, under minor restrictions, mobile still accounts for 90% of the total handle.

Illinois currently boasts 5 mobile sportsbooks namely William Hill, FanDuel, BetRivers, DraftKings, and PointsBet. All of these sportsbooks have managed to grow the industry in a short span but there are still some ways to go as they continue to establish themselves further.

Final Thoughts

Illinois residents have enjoyed legal sports betting for some time now and so far, so good. As the US industry tries to cross the $5 billion mark in 2021, Illinois stands as the 4th largest sports wagering market in the country. If it has any intentions of closing in on behemoths in the industry such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, then it must do everything it can to make the market as attractive as possible to potential entrants, shareholders, and investors.

As the state of Illinois continues to expand its burgeoning sports betting structure, it is vital that the state’s sports teams, operators, and other newcomers to uphold and advance responsible gambling practices for punters in the state. This will not only ensure that the industry continues to grow, but it will also make certain that consumers are protected while gaming integrity is upheld.

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