IL Required In-Person Registration For Mobile Sports Betting Suspended

• Governor J.B. Pritzker has lifted the in-person mobile sports betting registration requirement by Executive Order on Thursday.
• With major professional sports making a comeback and retail sportsbooks shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Pritzker issued the order.
• Mobile sports betting platforms in Illinois are expected to launch by the end of June for sports bettors.

CHICAGO – The Illinois sports betting regulation for in-person registration to access mobile sportsbooks was suspended by Governor J.B. Pritzker on Thursday.

Pritzker issued the Executive Order to withdraw the in-person mobile registration part of the sports betting law for the time being due to the economical financial havoc brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic in Illinois.

There are currently no sports betting applications available in Illinois but that is expected to change by the end of June.

Law And Order

Illinois Executive Order 2020-41 was how Governor Pritzker made it all happen.

“During the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations, the provisions in the Sports Wagering Act, 230 ILCS 45/25-30(f), 25-35(f), and 25-40(i), requiring in-person creation of a sports wagering account at a facility authorized pursuant to the Act in order to participate in sports wagering offered over the internet or through a mobile application, are suspended.”

The order takes into account that residents are unable to visit sports betting establishments as casinos have been closed since March 16.

There is no known date as to when they will reopen. Therefore, to get some sort of profit during these hard times, the only way to see money coming in from the sports betting industry would be to get people to wager on games through mobile sportsbooks.

It is for this reason that Pritzker decided to do away with in-person registration at the moment.

While professional sports have been put on hold, they are now being greenlit to return, making it even more crucial to give people a way to gamble on sports in Illinois.

Illinois Mobile Sports Betting

The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) will meet on June 11 to discuss approving more casinos for sports betting licenses.

At the moment, only two casinos have licenses to accept bets on sporting events, Rivers Casino and Argosy Casino.

Five other casinos have temporary licenses that could turn into permanent licenses after the meeting and would allow them to start taking sports bets.

Once licensed, these retail locations could link up with mobile sports betting operators.

Two that are vying for mobile platforms in the state are DraftKings and FanDuel. Once these companies are tied with an in-state casino, they will be able to be approved for the proper licenses by the IGB to launch operations.

Right now, BetRivers looks to be the best bet to get the first mobile sports betting platform launch in Illinois because they already have ties to Rush Street Interactive as their operator of choice.

When Will Illinois See Mobile Sports Betting?

After the IGB meeting, more will be known about the companies that have been given approval and certain launch dates.

With the NBA and NHL slated to make comebacks in the coming weeks, the timing for Pritzker’s Executive Order is a great victory for legal sports bettors and the economy as a whole in the Prairie State.

Illinoisans can expect to see some casinos go live with mobile sportsbooks by the end of June.

They will then be able to sign up and gamble with these books right from home, in keeping with the guidelines of social distancing thanks to the Governor and his order.

News tags: Coronavirus | DraftKings | FanDuel | Illinois | Illinois Executive Order 2020-41 | Illinois Gaming Board | J.B. Pritzker | mobile sports betting Illinois