Illinois hasn’t had sports betting for very long, but lawmakers are already considering changes to the laws.
One change would permit betting on in-state school athletics. The House Executive Committee would also legalize and regulate certain iGaming programs and ban so-called sweepstakes machines, which mirror video games but aren’t regulated by the state, as slot machines are.
Rep. Mike Zalewski said the college betting prohibition “reduces our marketplace and makes us less of a robust marketplace than we otherwise would be.”
But University of Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman opposed the bill, according to Journal & Topics. Whitman worried that athletes could be influenced by people who bet on their team. “It’s strange to know that somebody who lives in the dorm room right next door might be betting on them, or somebody who was involved with one of our teams as a manager or video person might be betting on them,” he said.
He added that college athletes receive social media hate commentary that “in some cases directly references gambling losses.”
Zalewski said his amendment lets universities petition the Illinois Gaming Board to suspend wagering for up to six months if “the college or university has a reasonable belief that a player of that team has been influenced, has suffered mental or physical injury, or has otherwise been affected by a wager.”
Trevor Hayes, head of government relations for William Hill U.S. said without the amendment, people can still bet on Illinois colleges.
“The reality is there are apps in these kids’ hands today from overseas companies that are illegal,” he said. “No one has to drive half an hour to make a bet on any Illinois college team.”
As for iGaming, Rep. Daniel Didech said such games are also available on unregulated websites. He called them predatory sites.
“Money that is deposited into accounts on these illegal websites is not safe,” he said. “It is not uncommon for there to see significant delays in the ability for consumers to cash out their money, and sometimes people never receive their money at all.”
Better to legalize it and not be unscrupulous.
“We’re talking about playing games for money on the internet, against the house, such as blackjack, slots and roulette. And we’re also talking about games for money on the internet against other players such as poker,” Didech said, according to The Telegraph.
Supporters say online casinos attract a different customer than those to visit casinos or slot parlors.
Then again, video gambling terminal operators oppose iGaming. Dan Clausner, executive director of the Illinois Licensed Beverage Association, said such gambling would discourage visiting local slot machine parlors.
