Illinois Sports Bettors Rejoice as Remote Registration Has Arrived
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The Illinois mobile sports betting market is set to explode this weekend just in time for the March Madness tournament with the in-person registration requirement set to be lifted. At midnight, as Friday turns to Saturday, individuals in Illinois will be able to sign up for an account on a range of sports betting platforms all via mobile devices. This has been a long time coming in Illinois, and it should help boost what is already highly successful sports betting market.
Previous Period of Remote Registration
When Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the state’s sports betting bill into law, one of the rare exceptions to the state’s regulations was that new customers must register for an account in-person at a retail casino. Most other states don’t have this limitation. As the COVID-19 pandemic began to rise in severity, Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-41 in the summer of 2020 to lift the in-person registration requirement.
That executive order has been renewed a handful of times in order to allow more individuals to register for mobile sports betting. Illinois has generated almost $9 billion in sports betting handle since launch in March 2020, almost 96% of which has come from online wagering. The last executive order renewal came in March 2021, right before Barstool Sportsbook launched.
When the executive order has not been enacted and the original rules have been in place, FanDuel and DraftKings, the two leaders in the sports betting market, have been the most affected. FanDuel has a retail sportsbook in Collinsville and DraftKings has one in East St. Louis, making it a five-hour drive for those living in and around Chicago if they wanted to sign up for an account with either platform.
Remote Registration Passed in General Assembly
On October 28, House Bill 3136 was passed in the Illinois General Assembly. HB 3136 included several amendments and updates to the sports betting landscape, including the in-person registration requirement being overturned. March 5 was set as the date for remote registration, in time for a surge of betting on March Madness college basketball.
That date was seen as “neutral” in terms of the period from when the first retail sports betting license was issued to when the first online-only license could be issued. The date also gave the Illinois Gaming Board time to extend the 90-day deadline for reviewing and offering licenses without affecting other components.
BetMGM Joining the Illinois Market
In addition to the opening of remote registration, Illinois will also be accepting BetMGM into the market this weekend. BetMGM originally submitted its application for a license in September 2020, and it will be tethered to Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria. BetMGM has a well-established presence in neighboring Midwest states Michigan, Indiana, and Iowa.
BetMGM has generated a $940 million handle and $94 million in gross revenue in Michigan since its launch in January 2021. In Indiana, BetMGM has generated $600 million in total wagers and $53 million in gross gaming revenue in the 19 months since launch. In Iowa, BetMGM has generated a total handle of over $600 million and $11.2 million in revenue.
INBOX: Per the Illinois Gaming Board, @BetMGM has requested and received approval to commence mobile wagering.
Now up to the operator to launch, which likely will be midnight (or shortly thereafter) when remote registration begins.#SportsBetting
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) March 4, 2022
Sportsbooks Gearing up for Sign-Up Action
The existing sports betting operators in Illinois are thrilled about the lifting of the remote registration requirement as several would-be customers will now have the opportunity to register for accounts. PointsBet Chief Marketing Officer Kyle Christensen said remote registration has been a “long time coming” and that “everyone knows the gravity of the moment.”
Operators are offering great sign-up offers for the following weekend, and you can learn more about the existing welcome bonuses on our site. Visit our official Illinois sports betting page for more information on how to sign up and access great offers of deposit bonuses, bonus bets, promotions relating to Chicago-based teams, and more.
