The Illinois Senate passed a proposed amendment to HB 3136 on Thursday evening, with the goal of removing the in-person sports betting registration requirement in Illinois by March 5, 2022.
The House is required to approve it by Thursday, and the act permits in-person betting on state college teams.
At present, full mobile registration can only occur after the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) grants an online-only sportsbook license. Unfortunately, the chances of this happening are slim due to the high cost of $20 million per license, which would mostly benefit well-established market leaders.
Section 25-45 contains the specifics of the online-only license trigger, as mentioned in the following section. The amendment’s verbiage is provided below for reference.
An individual must establish a sports betting account in person at the facility prior to the issuance of the first license under Section 25-45 or by March 5, 2022, whichever happens first.
The Illinois Legislature is currently engaged in a filibuster program to potentially end the in-person register in Illinois with enough support from House lawmakers.
What justifies the need for the article?
Illinois painted itself into a corner with the way the law was crafted.
Legislators assumed that a company would supply the required $20 million to acquire a mobile-only license, reasoning that popular companies such as DraftKings, FanDuel, and others would be eager to enter the market through this exclusive opportunity.
Instead of operating independently, the companies decided to partner with land-based facilities to expand their market reach. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued an executive order removing the need to visit a retail sportsbook in person to verify an online sports betting account.
During the seven-plus months, DraftKings and FanDuel established themselves as the top sports betting operators in Illinois, consistently surpassing all other operators in monthly handle and revenue.
Hence, there is no justifiable reason for either operator to take a risk on an online-only license. While another gaming operator may still be interested, the significant costs and the advantages it gives to existing market players make it a less appealing option.
The physical registration requirement for casinos was not intended to be a permanent practice. However, without any bids or legislative changes, this method would remain in place indefinitely.
This is the reason why the action must be taken.
Illinois sporting betting’s present and future
Despite in-person registration being available since early April, the sports betting market in Illinois is thriving.
Illinois consistently places third in the nation for management, following New Jersey and Nevada. In August, Illinois reported revenue of $400.4 million.
Illinois has the potential to surpass Nevada for the second overall position if online registration is implemented. However, history has shown that without a consistent stream of new customers, Illinois may struggle to sustain this progress.
Additionally, allowing this would open up the opportunity for more bookmakers to do business in Illinois. Notable companies like BetMGM, Unibet, theScore Bet, Bally Bet, Golden Nugget, and WynnBet have already shown interest, and there are likely more potential parties interested as well.
A small change to HB 3136 could be important. We will update you as the situation develops.
