Illinois‘ gambling regulator needs a new leader.
On Thursday, current Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) Chair Charles Schmadeke announced at a meeting that he is stepping down effective July 1.
“I would like to announce this morning that I have advised Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker that after two terms, it is time for me to call it a day,” Schmadeke said at the start of a scheduled IGB meeting on Thursday. “
A longtime lawyer, Schmadeke has been with the board since 2019. He joined at the same time that the state was gearing up for a huge expansion of legal gambling after the General Assembly legalized sports betting and authorized the construction of up to six new casinos in the state.
Since then, the board has overseen the implementation of an expanded gambling industry.
“It proved to be very challenging,” noted Schmadeke. “Not only handling the ongoing duties, but also implementing the gaming expansion of 2019, which we have made substantial but not complete progress on.”
That was complicated by the fact that online sports wagering ultimately went live just days before the COVID-19 pandemic forced shutdowns across the U.S. In the five years since, Illinois’ online sports betting market has grown to one of the most lucrative in the country. It currently hosts 10 licensed sportsbooks, after bet365 brought that number into double figures by launching in the state in March.
Departing chair hails IGB’s integrity efforts
To say that Illinois’ gambling market, and therefore the duties of the regulator, continues to change would be an understatement.
There’s the sports wagering tax situation. The state changed from a flat 15% tax on sportsbooks’ revenue to a progressive tax rate that charges the top-earning operators as much as 40%. And, of course, starting on the date that Schmadeke leaves, Illinois sportsbooks will have to start paying 25 cents on every bet they take.
The IGB is not responsible for those changes, but it’s another twist the regulator must help operators navigate.
Meanwhile, as Schmadeke noted in his farewell speech, the IGB continues to attempt to uphold the integrity of the Land of Lincoln’s gambling market.
“The duty of the Gaming Board is to protect the integrity of gaming in Illinois, and for that, it has been my goal in particular but our goal in general that gaming should benefit all of Illinois,” he added. “We have always consciously attempted to ensure that all Illinoisans participate in the benefits of gaming.”
That comes as the board continues its efforts to clamp down on unlicensed online casinos and sportsbooks, as well as online sweepstakes casinos that it asserts mimic unlawful gambling. It has sent an assortment of cease-and-desist letters to operators in recent months.
In April, the board also became the latest state regulator to fix its stare on prediction markets operators, sending C&Ds to each of Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com, asserting that the companies are offering what constitutes illegal sports wagering.
