Illinois lawmakers considering bill to allow sportsbooks' online registration again

Illinois lawmakers are considering developing legislation that would once again allow online registration for sportsbooks in the state. The move comes after Gov. J.B. Pritzker nixed online registration this past weekend.

Illinois has quickly become one of the biggest states for sports betting in the country, which is why nixing online registration during a pandemic raised some concerns.

“This is quite a mess,” PlayIllinois.com Lead Writer Joe Boozell said, as reported by Fox Illinois. "I don’t totally understand it either. I have been trying to make sense of it all weekend."

Some lawmakers agree. “We still aren't out of the pandemic,” State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said. “So, it just kind of leaves me scratching my head as to why you would let the executive order expire."

Since Pritzker signed the executive order allowing online registration in June 2020, Illinois has grown to fourth in the nation in terms of money gambled. "I think as expected, online registration has turned out to be very popular and it certainly is the way of the future,” State Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, said.

Stadelman was one of the sponsors of the original gaming bill from 2019 and said online registration is great, but the bill was constructed that way for a reason. “Sports betting never would have been legalized, I believe, back in 2019 if that in-person registration was not a part of it,” Stadelman said.

Stadelman said casinos need in-person registration to drive their foot traffic, which has been devastated by the pandemic. But, Boozell said without online registration, people may revert to old habits. "That is why the law is not great because people will just download illegal apps,” Boozell said.

This is why Stadelman said the discussion will be had to open online registration again with new legislation. "It's worth having another discussion," Stadelman said. "In light of what has happened this year during the pandemic and the fact that online registration has been in place already, I think it is worth having another discussion in Springfield."

McClure said there is always a chance of legislation popping up and working its way through the chambers quickly, but he thinks that, since it is already April, it would be unlikely for a major bill like that to come up anytime soon.

Without another executive order or legislation, the earliest that online sportsbook registration can open again is this December.