Illinois now has six licensed sports gambling operators ready to get things rolling in the state. After the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) approved three licenses in January, it would take about another month for three more to be accepted, but at least progress is being made. The newest recipients hoping to see their sportsbooks go live ahead of March Madness this month include Boyd Gaming and Penn National Gaming.
Penn National will now be able to put up sports wagers at its Hollywood Casino properties in Aurora and Joliet, and Boyd will add odds boards to its Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino in Peoria, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Another venue, the Fairmount Park racetrack located in Collinsville, has yet to find out whether or not the IGB plans on approving its sports gambling license request.
Just like was the case when regulators issued licenses to Rivers Casino, Grand Victoria Casino and Argosy Casino Alton in January, there is still no specific date when sports wagers will start to legally be placed in the state. However, the race is on to try to get the market up and running before March Madness, the NCAA men’s basketball championship games, in order to capture one of the larger gambling events in the country.
It seems that getting things in place ahead of the games is expected, at least by one of the newly-licensed entities. The Argosy Casino Alton has been advertising the launch of its sportsbook ahead of March Madness, and Rivers Casino brass are “hopeful” everything will be ready by the start of the games on March 17.
Even if gamblers are able to place wagers on the hoops contests, they’ll quickly find out that they won’t be able to wager on the hometown team. When Illinois approved its sports gambling legislation, it put Illinois collegiate teams off-limits, and the Illinois Fighting Illini are currently third in the Big 10 Conference. They’re on a four-game winning streak and could see a deep run in their first tournament appearance since 2013.
There’s a lot at stake with a proper rollout of sports gambling in Illinois, so getting it right is more important than getting it done quickly. Illinois is the fifth-largest state in the US and an active sports gambling market is expected to draw as much as $5.2 billion within just a few years. If done incorrectly, it will be more difficult to reach that number.
Once sports gambling gets going in the state, mobile wagers will be introduced, which will boost the revenue even more. There is also chatter that the sports stadiums where teams like the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Bulls play could set up their own sportsbooks. First things first, though, and Illinois has to greenlight the activity before the rest can fall into place. If the IGB feels it’s ready, Illinois could be the first, but certainly not last, state to launch legal sports gambling this year.
