Illinois Records Record-Breaking Sports Betting Handle – In June 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill legalizing sports betting in the state and in April recorded the second-highest handle of any state in the country with a total of $537.18 million. Illinois trailed only New Jersey, which handled $748 million in wagers for the month.
Illinois had set a record of $633.61 million in March due to the NCAA basketball tournament and other popular events. It was also the last month during which remote registration for the mobile applications was permitted, with bettors having to register in person at a retail sportsbook beginning April 2nd after Pritzker failed to renew the approval of the remote registration.
The lack of remote registration is likely to stunt Illinois’ sports betting growth, with about 96% of wagers typically made using mobile applications provided by multiple operators, including DraftKings, William Hill, and BetRivers, among others. As a result, April’s handle was down over 15% from the previous month but was still high enough to put Illinois in second place for the first time.
Other States News
Nevada was in second place behind New Jersey in March, with $641 million in wagers, but the home of gambling mecca Las Vegas saw a 28.5% decrease in April, dropping it down to fourth place behind Pennsylvania, which had 14.4% less betting than in March. Michigan saw a similar drop in wagering as Nevada, putting it in fifth place nationally.
Currently, bettors in Illinois are unable to place wagers on games involving college teams located within the state. However, an amendment to the sports betting bill that would allow betting on the state’s college teams passed the House by a margin of 96-11 and is headed to the state senate for approval.
All bets would have to be placed in person at any of the state’s retail sportsbooks, and only wagers that have to do with the outcome of the game would be allowed. Individual player prop wagers and other proposition bets would not be allowed under the current working of the bill.
The bill would allow for the wagers during a two-year trial period once the bill is passed, signed by the governor, and takes effect, presumably in July. If the practice isn’t made permanent or the trial extended, it will expire in July of 2023. BParlay.com have also seen an increase in ball game betting, especially with our popular College Basketball Picks that are available
Sports Betting Update
In 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled to end the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which opened the door for every state to determine if they wanted to allow sports betting. Since then, almost 30 states have passed legislation approving wagering on sports, with over 20 of them currently with sportsbooks in operation, with Louisiana the most recent state to approve sports betting, doing so on the final day of its legislative session.
Every state operates in slightly different ways, with combinations of retail, mobile and casino-based sportsbooks in operation. However, the two largest states are still at least two years away from implementing sports betting, with Texas failing to pass a bill in 2021 and will have to wait until the 2023 legislative session to address it again.
California recently acquired enough signatures on a petition, allowing a ballot measure to be voted on during the November 2022 General Election. However, even if approved, it’s unlikely Californians will be able to place bets on sports until sometime in the second half of 2023 at the earliest if implementation takes a similar amount of time as in other states.
The largest state to approve sports betting is Florida, after its legislature approved an agreement that Governor Ron Desantis reached with the Seminole Tribe, who has exclusive rights to operate gambling establishments in the state. Implementation there is expected to take place by late 2022.
