Just in time for the start of March Madness, the State of Illinois has officially welcomed sport betting. The first location to offer players the opportunity to bet on sports was Rivers Casino in Des Plaines.
The path to legal sports betting in Illinois was not without problems and obstacles. As far back as June last year, Governor JB Pritzker signed a gambling expansion law, which also incorporated sports betting. However, it took another nine months until all the bumps were smoothed out.
In December last year, the Illinois Gaming Board started taking applications for sportsbooks licenses, with Rivers Casino being one of them. Early this year, the authority issued three temporary licenses, and the BetRivers Sportsbook started planning for a March rollout.
A ceremony was held at Rivers Casino to mark the opening of offical sports betting in the Prairie State. One of Illinois’ most popular horse race betting personalities, Eddie Olcyzyk was given the honors of placing the first bet. He bet on the Chicago White Sox winning the American League penant in 2020. Olcyzk hopes to turn his $100 wager into $1,600.
15 states, including Illinois, now allow betting on sports. The Gaming Board has given permission for all 10 casinos in the state to apply for a sports betting license. Six locations have submitted an application. The new law also allows horse tracks and professional sports stadiums to also apply for licenses.
The state is expected to generate up to $11 billion in wagers each year, and $650 million in operator gross revenue – although these numbers will only happen if online sports betting is thrown into the mix.. Analysts believe that because of the regulatory roadblocks to online sports betting, it will still be years before Illinois enjoys the same type of growth seen in other states such as Pennsylvania, Indiana and New Jersey.
