Illinois lawmakers pave way for return of remote registration
Amendment to HB 3136 lifts in-person sign-up mandate for online sportsbooks
Bettors in Illinois will no longer need to register for online sportsbooks in person beginning in March 2022, thanks to an amendment to sports betting bill HB 3136 that was approved overwhelmingly by both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly.
The amendment, which lifts the mandate that requires online sportsbook accounts to be registered at an affiliated brick-and-mortar property (eg. DraftKings customers currently have to sign up at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis, a 300-mile drive from Chicago), goes into effect on March 5, 2022.
The mandate would also be expunged if the Illinois Gaming Board opts to issue one of the three online-only licenses available prior to that date.
Of the major US operators, BetMGM is the only one not currently live in the state. Remote registration was notably permitted during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic via executive order from Governor J.B. Pritzker.
In addition to the expiration of in-person sign-up, the amendment passed by lawmakers also lifts a provision banning wagers on in-state college teams.
The revision allows for bets to be placed on in-state college teams strictly at retail locations and only on game outcomes, meaning props and player-performance bets are not allowed.
So while there remain restrictions, Illinois bettors will not be faced with the same headache that prevented them from wagering on last year’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game between the University of Illinois and Loyola-Chicago, or the Big Ten Championship football game between Northwestern and Ohio State.
Both would have likely been massive-handle events without the restrictions.
One final provision in the amendment changes the licensing requirements for professional sports venues. Originally, any venue that wanted to apply for a sports betting license needed to have a seating capacity of at least 17,000.
That requirement has been waived, paving the way for WinTrust Arena – the 10,000-seat home of the WNBA champion Chicago Sky – to open a sportsbook.