Will Illinois Gov. Extend Remote Sportsbook Registration Again?

Illinois has been allowed to register for mobile sports betting platforms remotely since June.
Governor J.B. Pritzker has to decide whether or not to allow the continued availability of remote sportsbook registration as the current order expires Saturday.
Since opening remote registration for sports wagering applications, Illinois has seen millions of dollars in handle and revenue from the industry.

CHICAGO – November 14 marks the end of remote sportsbook registration in Illinois unless Governor J.B. Pritzker decides to extend the window for the fifth time.

Per Illinois state law, any resident that wishes to use the internet and mobile sports betting platforms must first register at a land-based location. When the Coronavirus Pandemic did not allow for this to occur because of the shutdown of casinos across the country, Pritzker decided to lift that rule for the first time in June.

Since then, he has placed extensions on this action in the months that followed with his latest extension coming to an end on Saturday.

As COVID-19 is still a part of daily life for Americans nationwide, will the Illinois Governor extend remote sports betting registration through the end of the year or will people in the state need to start going to retail locations to sign up for mobile sports wagering applications again?

Will There Be A Fifth Extension For An Executive Order?

The Illinois sports betting industry is semi-new to the scene and originally ordering the lifting of this rule was something that operators in the state needed if they were going to stay above water with the ceasing of sports matchups and mandatory venue closures.

When a number of sports came back in July, Illinois sports bettors flooded sportsbooks with wagers. BetRivers was the only open mobile business at the time and recorded $106.3 million in bets for August according to the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) financial report.

Illinois is the slowest state in the US to report their sports betting figures, often taking longer than a month to release the previous month’s business.

Numbers for September have not yet been released but with the number of games that took place and other sports betting platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel having opened for business, the numbers for the month should exceed the very large figure from August and the lone handle that came out of BetRivers.

William Hill and PointsBet also launched in mid-September, totaling five different sportsbooks taking wagers in September.

With the money being generated from the industry after having allowed remote registration, it’s very likely that Pritzker will once again extend his Executive Order.

Illinois could use the revenue that sports betting is bringing in. The topic was set to be discussed during the November legislative session that was going to take place from November 17-19 but that and the one scheduled for December have both been canceled because Illinois is seeing a surge in positive COVID-19 tests among its residents.

This is another good reason for Pritzker to continue his remote sportsbook registration.

How Does The Sports Betting Market Look For Illinois?

Internet and mobile sports wagering activity is through the roof. With a fifth extension and the number of outlets now available, profits are projected to grow even more.

The NFL season is also in full swing and is the most wagered on sport in the country which can only help the profit margins for the Illinois sports betting market.

The only downside to this extension is the continued drop in the casino business in the state. However, the Executive Order is not completely at fault for this drop.

With the Coronavirus Pandemic causing retail establishments to operate at minimal capacities, it’s only natural that their profits would see a decline as they’re not getting as many patrons in the door for the purposes of public health safety.

Retail only sports betting facilities are not receiving the same action as their mobile neighbors either because of the COVID-19 protocols at their establishments.

If anything, this only shows how much a mobile market for sports betting is needed in times like these. And with the continued cash rolling in for operators from sports bettors in Illinois, residents should expect that Pritzker will be extending his Executive Order that allows remote mobile registration through the end of 2020.

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Christina Monroe

Christina has been writing for as long as she can remember and does dedicated research on the newly regulated sports betting market. She comes from a family of sports lovers that engage in friendly bets from time to time. During the winter months, you can find Christina baking cookies and beating the entire staff at Mario Kart…the N64 version of course.