Sports Betting Might Be Allowed in Illinois, Sources Say
Photo Courtesy of NBC Chicago
According to www.dailyherald.com, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been leading the charge to bring sports betting to the state and has recently laid out the first concrete details on how this idea could be possible.
Illinois would most likely be following the “New Jersey Model,” according to www.dailyherald.com. The model would allow for both brick-and-mortar betting at the state's casinos and racetracks as well as online betting on digital platforms, with a tax rate of 15 percent for the former and 20 percent for the latter, according to the source.
Pritzker has already budgeted to bring in more than $200 million of new state revenue within the next fiscal year from licensed sports gambling. According to www.nbcchicago.com, Pritzker is hoping the “burgeoning sports-gambling industry” will help solve Illinois' budget troubles.
The Illinois Casino Gaming Association, which represents nine state casinos, is “very interested” in seeing if sports betting is legalized, according to www.chicagotribune.com. “My members are in favor of sports betting as long as the casinos can participate in it,” Tom Swoik, the association's executive director told www.nbcchicago.com reporters. “We think that it's one of the few markets left out there where expansion will help the industry and help the state, as opposed to additional casinos or slots at racetracks. That's just going to shift money around.” If successful, Illinois would become the ninth state to legalize sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against its prohibition in a case last May.
“If they are trying to legalize marijuana, I don’t see why it would be a problem for it to be legal to bet your own money on a sports game. It would solve a lot of problems,” says Marissa Cauley, a student at the University of St. Francis.
According to www.espn.com, sports betting has been legalized in Nevada, New Mexico, Mississippi, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island.
