Illinois Remote Sportsbook Registration Extended For March Madness

• Illinois residents can sign up remotely for mobile sports betting accounts through April 3 with the newest Executive Order signed by Governor JB Pritzker.
• This newest order will coincide with March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament that is slated to bring in numerous bets and a surge in handle for Illinois in March.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Over the weekend, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has once again put an extension on allowing remote registration for mobile sportsbooks in the state that will go all the way through April 3.

Upon that time, Pritzker can decide to stop the continued extensions that have become a monthly occurrence or once again implement the rule of the law that says sports bettors in Illinois must go to a land-based location to sign up for a mobile sports betting platform.

It’s very likely that there will be another extension for April as the current one will close out on the final weekend for betting on March Madness. The highly anticipated NCAA basketball tournament that was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 is always rife with wagering activity, especially in Illinois, despite gamblers being unable to bet on any state schools like the University of Illinois who is expected to be a top contender this year.

Extensions Providing High Handles For Illinois

The last Executive Order was set to expire on March 6. Each order that has been authorized by Pritzker has the same wording within it, citing the Coronavirus Pandemic for the reason as to why this is needed. Lifting this part of the law has been a huge part of the success seen in the sports betting industry for Illinois, making them one of the top states in the nation in terms of profits and activity because of it.

Illinois is slow to report its numbers and revenue for their legal sports wagering industry, but their December figures were the fourth highest in the United States for handle. It’s no surprise that the Governor would want to continue on this trajectory with a continued extension for the upcoming March Madness action that is expected to be seen by mobile sports betting platforms throughout the state.

The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) reported $491.7 million was gambled on sporting events in the month of December. This created almost $24 million in revenue for the state as well as $3.6 million in tax holds.

And these numbers are only projected to grow because there will be no shortage of sports matchups for Illinois sports bettors to wager on in March, especially when it comes to these once-a-year events like March Madness. And because it was canceled last year, fans will probably put even more skin in on the games to make up for the lost time.

March Sports Betting In IL

Illinois sports betting is already home to operators like DraftKings, FanDuel, William Hill, PointsBet, and BetRivers for gamblers that wish to access mobile sports betting applications. However, it is rumored that Penn National’s new Barstool Sportsbook will go live just in time for all of the NCAA basketball action.

If this happens to be the case, that could only help surge the number of wagers and the overall profits for the month of March in Illinois by sports fans statewide.

Interested gamblers that have not yet registered for a mobile sportsbook account in Illinois have until April 3 to do so remotely through this latest Executive Order issued by Governor JB Pritzker. March Madness tips off on March 18 with the final buzzer sounding off on April 5.

News tags: Barstool Sportsbook | BetRivers | Coronavirus pandemic | DraftKings | FanDuel | Illinois | Illinois Gaming Board | JB Pritzker | March Madness | NCAA | Penn National | PointsBet | University of Illinois | William Hill