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The race to become the first Midwest hub of legal Sports Betting is on.
And Illinois is a lock to lose.
While Iowa launches its first legal sports books this week and Indiana gambling dens stand ready to start taking wagers next month, money will keep burning holes in the pockets of eager Illinois bettors as football season kicks into gear.
Even though the state’s massive gaming expansion was signed into law over six weeks ago, the Illinois Gaming Board still has to draft hundreds of rules governing application and oversight procedures that aren’t spelled out in the law. And while state lawmakers initially said they thought Sports Betting could launch in Illinois in time for the NFL kickoff in September — or at least by the Super Bowl in February — there’s no rollout in sight.
At a meeting last week, gaming board authorities said they expected to soon begin releasing some of the emergency rules that will ease casino and video gaming expansion into motion. But regulators have yet to set a timeline for a Sports Betting.
That’s only natural for a gargantuan task “with a lot of moving parts,” gaming board administrator Marcus Fruchter said.
“We’re creating an entire industry from scratch. You’ve got to take time to do that deliberately and not rush into something that either doesn’t work or has problems or any number of other concerns,” he said.
Fruchter noted the law doesn’t include any deadlines for implementation. The only date listed in the Sports Wagering Act requires the board to commission a study by March about the online betting industry’s inclusion of women, minorities and people with disabilities.
And rule-making can be a lengthy process. It took about three years for video gaming to launch statewide after it was legalized with then-Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature in 2009.
“We’re following a process, and we’re going through and making sure we have the right approach for the state, which deserves integrity and adequate safeguards,” Fruchter said. “Process is very important — making sure that it’s independent and transparent.”
It doesn’t help that sports wagering is just one cog in the unprecedented gaming expansion dumped on the lap of the 150-employee agency, which currently is responsible for vetting and overseeing the operators of 10 casinos and nearly 32,000 video gaming terminals. Six new casinos, a “racino,” even more video gaming and casino games at race tracks will soon be added to the mix.
The race to become the first Midwest hub of legal Sports Betting is on.
And Illinois is a lock to lose.
While Iowa launches its first legal sports books this week and Indiana gambling dens stand ready to start taking wagers next month, money will keep burning holes in the pockets of eager Illinois bettors as football season kicks into gear.
Even though the state’s massive gaming expansion was signed into law over six weeks ago, the Illinois Gaming Board still has to draft hundreds of rules governing application and oversight procedures that aren’t spelled out in the law. And while state lawmakers initially said they thought Sports Betting could launch in Illinois in time for the NFL kickoff in September — or at least by the Super Bowl in February — there’s no rollout in sight.
At a meeting last week, gaming board authorities said they expected to soon begin releasing some of the emergency rules that will ease casino and video gaming expansion into motion. But regulators have yet to set a timeline for a Sports Betting.
That’s only natural for a gargantuan task “with a lot of moving parts,” gaming board administrator Marcus Fruchter said.
“We’re creating an entire industry from scratch. You’ve got to take time to do that deliberately and not rush into something that either doesn’t work or has problems or any number of other concerns,” he said.
Fruchter noted the law doesn’t include any deadlines for implementation. The only date listed in the Sports Wagering Act requires the board to commission a study by March about the online betting industry’s inclusion of women, minorities and people with disabilities.
And rule-making can be a lengthy process. It took about three years for video gaming to launch statewide after it was legalized with then-Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature in 2009.
“We’re following a process, and we’re going through and making sure we have the right approach for the state, which deserves integrity and adequate safeguards,” Fruchter said. “Process is very important — making sure that it’s independent and transparent.”
It doesn’t help that sports wagering is just one cog in the unprecedented gaming expansion dumped on the lap of the 150-employee agency, which currently is responsible for vetting and overseeing the operators of 10 casinos and nearly 32,000 video gaming terminals. Six new casinos, a “racino,” even more video gaming and casino games at race tracks will soon be added to the mix.
