At a recent hearing of the Illinois House Executive Committee, casino industry executives testified in support of eliminating the in-person registration requirement for new sports wagerers. The casino officials said the requirement offers little benefit to retail gaming venues and actually pushes potential legal players to the black market.
In response, state Rep. Robert Rita, the committee chairman, noted the rule was a compromise that helped pass the 2019 expanded gambling bill, as casinos feared online gaming would reduce foot traffic. “That was a really important part of what the final outcome of the bill was. As we come out of a pandemic, we still need to continue to look at our brick-and-mortars, who are employing people and paying taxes,” Rita said.
Sports betting launched in Illinois in March 2020, just days before casinos were shuttered due to Covid-19. The first online bets were placed in May as the casinos remained closed, and Governor J.B. Pritzker issued an executive order allowing remote registration, citing social distancing measures and logistical and operational concerns causes by Covid-19.
Pritzker renewed the order several time; meanwhile, encouraged by remote registration, BetRivers, DraftKings, FanDuel, William Hill, PointsBet and Barstool Sportsbook all launched in Illinois. Pritzker renewed the order several times but allowed it to expire in April. Observers said it’s unlikely he’ll reinstate online registration, leaving legislative action as the only way to change the status quo. Otherwise the on-site registration requirement will remain in place until it expires in late 2021 or early 2022.
Illinois and Nevada are the only two states in the country with legalized sports betting that require in-person registration at a casino for a new online sports betting account. With numerous casinos, in-person registration for Nevadans is much easier than in Illinois, with only five brick-and-mortar casinos.
For example, a Chicago-area resident may only have to travel a few miles to register for a PointsBet affiliate but would have to drive roughly four hours to sign up for DraftKings’ partner facility in East St. Louis. “There is no need to have the people in Illinois have to drive in order to complete their registration. Online registration has been a success and I think it is time to open it up,” said Trevor Hayes, William Hill’s head of government relations.
Because of online registration, sports betting grew rapidly in Illinois. In September 2020, bettors set up more than 23,000 new mobile sports wagering accounts, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
Also at the legislative committee meeting, many mobile-registration supporters also asked lawmakers to repeal the ban on in-state college betting; advocates for the smaller sports organizations asked legislators to lower the $10 million licensing fee; and others brought up future horseracing, video gaming terminals, online poker and online casino gaming and lottery policies.
No votes or actions were taken on any legislation or proposals.
