The Illinois Gaming Board has added UK gambling titan Bet365 to its growing list of sports betting providers. Bet365 will collaborate with Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort to provide Illinois residents with a physical and online sportsbook.
Bet365 Growing Footprint in the US
Bet365 is quickly becoming a major force in the US iGaming space. Illinois is the company’s 12th state of operation. Last year, the company entered 5 new states just before the NFL Season.
Between that time and this new football season, it has debuted in another 6 states. The company’s 12 states of operations are Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Illinois.
Illinois Sports Betting Landscape
Last week, the Illinois Gaming Board offered its 15th and 16th licenses to Bet365 and Wind Creek Casino. Both approvals indicate that the state is warming up to sports betting, which was legalized in March 2020.
Since then, sports betting has generated $41.3 billion in handle and $3.4 billion in revenue. Like most states, DraftKings rule supreme in Illinois, receiving over $4 billion worth of bets through October this year.
However, it barely edged FanDuel, with the latter taking $3.7 in stakes. BetRivers was third in the rankings, handling just $686 million.
Changing Betting Rules in Illinois
This year, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a new gambling budget that increased the current 15% sports betting tax rate to a tiered system ranging from 20% to 40%. Also, the IGB introduced new advertising rules to improve responsible gambling awareness in the state.
Online casino gambling has yet to receive the nod in the state, but that will likely change soon. Certain lawmakers are now gathering momentum for a major push. Rep. Edgar Gonzalez filed an online casino bill this year, which did not see any action. However, it is clear that it is the first of a couple more to come in the near future.
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