Illinois Issues Sports Betting Licenses but Holds Out on Mobile Wagering

Recently, seven casinos in Illinois got their master licenses to run legal sports betting in the state. However, mobile sports wagering is still on hold. The licenses were granted by the Illinois Gaming Board only a few days after Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker set an executive order which would speed up the process of allowing mobile wagering in the state.
The order granted by Pritzker also did away with the requirement for in-person registration. This was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the requirement was set by the state legislature in 2019.
The recent move by Pritzker may expedite the process of mobile wagering. However, none of the casinos in the state currently have mobile platforms available. Still, with the money that the state could make from taxes off mobile wagering, that may soon change.
The Licenses
The master licenses to allow for sports wagering were given to seven Illinois casinos:
· Grand Victoria Casino
· Argosy Casino Alton
· Hollywood Casino Aurora
· Hollywood Casino Joliet
· Rivers Casino-Des Plaines
· Casino Queen, Inc.
· Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino
Argosy Casino Alton and Rivers Casino-Des Plaines were the only two casinos that had retail sports wagering operations in place before the casinos were shut down due to the pandemic. The Illinois Gaming Board will have to examine each of the applicants before they can take advantage of mobile wagering.
Hitting the Mobile Trail
The governor’s order will stay in effect, “during the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation or the Illinois Gaming Board issues a competitively bid master sports wagering license.”
Recently there was a little confusion in the instruction’s later part considering that in the original press release, it did not pinpoint “competitive bid.” That refers to the licenses for internet-only sports betting, which are available to casinos at a cost of $20 million. Those licenses took the pace of the initial year and a half “penalty box” provision in Illinois law.
A handful of state legislators wanted to find a way to punish the sites DraftKings and FanDuel, as the duo had daily fantasy sports going on in Illinois, which was against the wishes of the attorney general. On the day of the approvals of the licenses, it began a ticking clock of 630 days where regulators could choose bids for those licenses. So, the Illinois Gaming Board has until springtime in 2022 to then pick who will be granted access to untethered mobile betting in the state.
The requirement for in-person registration will come to a halt when the regulators grant one of the three licenses that are available or when the waiting period expires. It is still unknown how long the governor’s proclamation will hold up, which could take off weeks and maybe even months off the initial restriction.
Marcus Fruchter is the Administrator of the Illinois Gaming Board and he recently stated, “Governor Pritzker’s executive order allows Illinois sports fans to temporarily place wagers from the safety of their own home, protecting a revenue source that is critical as the state begins to recover from the damaging financial impact of COVID-19.”
If the order is lifted in the time that operators have to get players in the fold for the inevitable launching of mobile gaming in Illinois, it may be very valuable. Operators at the local level, as well as the regional level, would like to get any advantage they can while DraftKings and FanDuel are temporarily out of the equation.