Illinois was able to open the door to a ‘remarkable July’ as sportsbooks took advantage of the executive order which temporarily permitted remote registration for sports bettors.
Despite there only being two sportsbooks which took advantage of the ruling, the Illinois Gaming Board confirmed that 230,000 mobile sports betting accounts were created, a number that would have been a fraction of that with the state’s in-person registration requirement in effect, according to analysts for PlayIllinois.
“We have seen over the past two years that legal jurisdictions with remote registration have a distinct advantage over those states with an in-person registration requirement,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayIllinois.com. “With Illinois’ sizable potential as a market, it could be a difference measure in tens of millions in wagers each month.”
PlayIllinois has predicted that sports betting in The Prairie State could generate $9 billion to $11 billion in bets annually.
Through July, Illinois sportsbooks accepted $61.8 million in bets, with $52.5 million generated at a time that was mostly void of the major sports. Of that $52.5 million, $51.9 million was generated by BetRivers/Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, with the remainder coming from Argosy Casino Alton.
Illinois faced a rocky start to its sports betting debut, however, with the global pandemic restricting businesses and confusing in-person registration rules that have been on again and off again.
With the remote registration window once again opened by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, at least until Saturday, DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, and William Hill – who have all launched online sportsbooks in the state – will be permitted to accept remote registrations.
This, combined with the return of major sports, could mean the difference of ‘10s of millions of dollars’ according to PlayIllinois.
“We’re so early in the process in Illinois, but August and September will be particularly telling months,” Gouker said. “Obviously, we expect a surge in action just from a full schedule of major sports. But remote registration widens the market by simply adding a layer of convenience for those in Illinois who don’t live near a retail sportsbook.”
