Illinois Sports Betting Market Set to Grow
The Illinois Gaming Board is set to have a meeting on Thursday, and it should come with some big news for the Illinois sports betting market. This isn’t a special meeting, but the agenda says that the IGB will announce the winning bidders of the online-only sports betting licenses.
Illinois has had a tough time attracting prospective operators for these licenses due to a number of reasons. That license comes at a price tag of $20 million, and many operators don’t want to join a state that is dominated by DraftKings and FanDuel.
It’s already been announced that Circa Sports is coming to the state of Illinois this Fall, but that comes from a deal with the American Place Casino in Waukegan. Fanatics was also looking to enter into Illinois, but it should be able to do that through the purchase of the U.S. assets of PointsBet.
Usually, there are rumors that are leaked that sort of spoil the big announcement, but that hasn’t been the case yet in Illinois. It is going to be a big surprise when the announcement is made, and at least two operators are expected to land a license.
A Look at the Possibilities
With Circa and Fanatics out of the mix for one of the online-only licenses, it would make sense that bet365 would look to target the Land of Lincoln. Bet365 is already offering online sports betting in Iowa and Ohio, and it has been extremely successful in each market.
Unibet is another big name in the online sports betting market, with most of the success coming overseas. It previously applied for a license with the IGB, and it could be looking for another shot to enter the market.
FOX Bet is another possible option as one of the contenders for a sports betting license in Illinois, although it hasn’t done much expanding of late. There will be plenty of people anxiously awaiting the announcement from the IGB after the meeting ends on Thursday.
Illinois is a Massive Market
Even though it’s going to be hard for the new operators to have a ton of success in the state of Illinois, there is enough sports betting to go around. DraftKings and FanDuel are always going to be the leaders in the Land of Lincoln, but sports bettors in the state haven’t had a new option since March 2022.
Another reason for operators to target the state of Illinois is the fact that it is now the second-largest sports betting market in the United States. The tax rate is also favorable to sports betting operators, and that makes up for the high price tag of the initial license.
There are also some casinos in the state that could be looking for a partner, and that could allow some other operators to join the Illinois sports betting market as well. It’s about time that Illinois is growing by adding operators, and it should lead to some huge numbers.
