An Illinois senator is adding to the state’s flurry of gaming legislation with a pair of bills that would impose new limitations on online sports betting.
Sen. Bill Cunningham’s SB 2398 and SB 2399 have both been referred to the Senate Assignments Committee for debate after their respective first readings late last week.
SB 2398 would amend the state Sports Wagering Act to add an artificial intelligence restriction. It stipulates that sportsbooks may not use AI to track their users’ betting activity or to tailor offers or promotions to specific individuals. The bill would also prevent AI from being used to create markets such as microbets, the outcomes of which may or may not be related to the ultimate result of the sporting event.
Meanwhile, SB 2399 would forbid sportsbooks from accepting more than five deposits from one user during a 24-hour period. Before accepting more than $1,000 in deposits during a 24-hour period or $10,000 during a 30-day period, operators would be required to carry out an affordability check.
Under the terms of SB 2399, credit card deposits would be banned.
SAFE Bet Act similarities
The bills pull their main proposals directly from the debated SAFE Bet Act that was introduced by Rep. Paul Tonko and Sen. Richard Blumenthal last September.
That bill, which aimed to create federal oversight of state-run sports betting, suggested implementing the first mandated affordability checks for sports bettors in the regulated U.S. market. It also advocated for a credit card ban and would have limited bettors to five deposits a day. It also would have limited the use of AI by sportsbook operators to track bettor behavior, create personalized betting offers or to generate gambling products like microbes.
The SAFE Bet Act received significant pushback from multiple corners of the industry.
Affordability checks have also been proposed by lawmakers in other states. Massachusetts Sen. John Keenan’s SD 1657 suggested making the Bay State the first state to introduce mandatory affordability checks.
Keenan proposed, among other things, mandating affordability checks and limiting wagers to 15% of the amount in a player’s bank account, as well as setting maximum wagering limits of $1,000 per day and $10,000 per month without an affordability check.
Multiple bills already filed in Illinois
Cunningham’s two new bills add to the daily fantasy sports (DFS) proposal he also filed last week. SB 2145 would regulate DFS and reshuffle how sports betting licenses are organized within the state. That legislation would drop the cost of an online-only sports betting master license to $15 million and remove the cap on how many licenses can be awarded.
That is one of two DFS bills currently in the Illinois legislature, as SB1224 from Sen. Lakesia Collins would authorize both peer-to-peer and against the house fantasy.
Online casino is also on the agenda. Sen. Cristina Castro’s SB 1963 and Rep. Edgar Gonzalez’s HB 3080 would create the Internet Gaming Act and allow operator to offer as many as three iGaming skins. Online casino would be taxed at 25% of adjusted gross revenue and only companies that have not reduced their workforce by 25% or more since Feb. 28, 2020 or since first receiving a casino license would be eligible.
