Illinois Sports Betting Begins on Monday

Eight months after sports betting was signed into law by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, the day has finally arrived. On Monday, residents of the state will be able to finally place their legalized sports wagers and join the rest of the United States in the latest craze to hit our society.
Rivers Casino Des Plaines will have an opening ceremony on Monday morning, and the first wager will be placed at noon. Former Chicago Blackhawks player Eddie Olczyk will be there to help in celebrating the festivities.
“The BetRivers Sportsbook will take March Madness out of the office pool and into an exciting, elevated live sports wagering experience,” said Rivers general manager Corey Wise. “We are grateful to the Illinois Gaming Board staff for their work approving our sportsbook in time for the college basketball tournament – one of the greatest sports events of the year.”
Business should certainly be booming at the onset. After all, Rivers already pulled in $440 million in revenue for 2018. That was the highest intake number in the state for that year.
While the Rivers sportsbook will only be a brick-and-mortar operation to start, the mobile betting features won’t be available until “later this year,” according to officials. During the eight months of limbo, Rivers was able to build the sportsbook location inside the casino.
There are six more Illinois casinos and the Fairmount Park racetrack in Collinsville that have applied for betting licenses so far. Additionally, sports arenas and stadiums such as Wrigley Field and United Center are legally allowed to build sportsbooks inside their venues.
Other Option
Only one other casino, Argosy Casino Alton, has advertised that its doors would be open for the start of the NCAA Tournament on March 17. A spokesman for the casino was unable to say when the sportsbook would actually open its doors to the public.
Sports betting was a huge get for Argosy, considering it was Illinois’ lowest-grossing casino in 2018, with only $40 million in revenue. Argosy was actually the first casino within the state to put in a sports betting license application, while Rivers and Grand Victoria submitted theirs the following day.
The Grand Victoria is one of the highest-earning casinos in the state as well.
All three of those casinos were quickly granted sports betting licenses by the Illinois Gaming Board, and that gave them the ability to have their locations ready before the final green light was given. It was truly a smart and necessary move since the moment was coming any day now.
Illinois is expected to be one of the highest-earning states in the U.S. once this thing gets fully rolling downhill. With nearby states like Indiana, Iowa and Kentucky either having legalized sports betting or planning to add it, now was the time for Illinois to strike.
The Prairie State was missing out on opportunities to make money in sports betting, and it’s very exciting to think about the great times that lie ahead. Of course, things will be ratcheted up to a much bigger level once mobile betting gets put in motion.