The sports betting industry in the state of Illinois is set to see a considerable change, leading to a significant reduction of revenue. Illinois will convert to requiring in-person registration when creating a sports betting account. As fair as it may sound, that will limit the number of customers that sign up.
Governor JB Pritzker has decided against extending his executive order that relaxes the requirements for signing up for new sports betting accounts. Illinois residents have been able to register for an account through their mobile devices during the pandemic, but that will end heading into August 1st.
Beginning as early as July 27th, Illinois residents who want to bet on sports will have to sign up for a new account on-site in one of the casinos that offer sports betting. There are only a few casinos that offer sports betting, and that will limit the number of customers that sign up for a new account.
Governor JB Pritzker extended a number of his previous executive orders, but not the one pertaining to mobile sports betting. The state of Illinois has not seen huge numbers since launching sports betting (as there was limited sports) and this decision will keep the numbers low.
Online registration for mobile sports betting ended July 26th. The August numbers are going to be interesting following this change. Even though BetRivers was the only mobile app that is up and running in the state, a few other sportsbooks were to launch soon.
Governor Pritzker wanted to give sports bettors a chance to make bets during the pandemic, and that was the reason for issuing the executive order. Now that casinos are back open in the state of Illinois, Pritzker has decided that his executive order should end.
Chicago Area is left Out
The new executive order will limit all residents in Illinois from sports betting, and will also have a significant impact on the city of Chicago. Local officials have not been able to secure a new casino as of this time, and therefore no sports betting is available in the area as well.
Rivers Casino in Des Plaines is the closest sports betting facility to the city of Chicago, and that will limit sports betting opportunities for residents of the Windy City. Even though Des Plaines is a short drive from Chicago, most customers will not travel out of the city to bet on sports.
Governor Pritzker believes that Illinois residents had enough time to sign up for new sports betting accounts during the pandemic, and he is not willing to extend his order. Even though the executive order has been lifted, residents of the Windy City had plenty of time to sign up for a new account over the last month.
Other States Set to Benefit
The state of Illinois will likely lose out on a ton of revenue during this pandemic, and the end of the new executive order will hurt the state.
BetRivers will be the biggest beneficiary of the relaxation of this order as it is currently the only online mobile app that is available in the state. The BetRivers mobile app has seen plenty of new customers over the last few months, and customers will be likely to sign up for a new account soon.
Indiana will also benefit from the new order in Illinois as the Hoosier State allows new customers to sign up remotely. Indiana and the city of Chicago are among the biggest sports betting markets in the United States, and those sportsbooks should see a vast number of new customers.
