Illinois bettors now have four options when it comes to legal online sports betting in the state.
The Australian sports betting operator PointsBet has become the fourth sportsbook operator to launch online and mobile sports betting operations in the state of Illinois.
This comes after the operator entered into a first of its kind deal with the University of Colorado Buffaloes.
PointsBet’s launch in Illinois
PointsBet launched its mobile betting app in Illinois on Saturday morning at 10 am, just in time for the first full slate of NFL games that were played on Sunday.
The Australian operator entered the state via a deal with Hawthorne Race Course near Chicago, the first Illinois horse racing track to be issued a sports wagering licence from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB).
Johnny Aitken, PointsBet USA CEO, said: “The PointsBet team is excited to share that we are now officially live in Illinois, our fourth state of operation in the US. The passionate sports fans in the state can now experience our leading online sports betting product and see for themselves why we’ve long stated that the best product experience will win.”
Taking advantage of remote registration
PointsBet will now join other online operators DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetRivers, in offering online and mobile sports wagering in the state of Illinois.
These operators will still be able to take advantage of the relaxed registration rules in the state which allow residents to create online sports betting accounts remotely from anywhere in the state.
In August, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker reinstated Executive Order 2020-41, which was originally issued in June. This order suspends the in-person registration requirements for online sports wagering until at least 19 September.
It is not yet clear whether Pritzker will extend the suspension of in-person registration beyond 19 September.
Sports betting in Illinois
In July 2019, Pritzker signed Illinois’ gambling expansion bill into law, making Illinois the fifth state to legalize sports betting in 2019. As well as legalizing sports betting, the bill allowed for the launch of six new land-based casinos and a large casino venue in Chicago.
The Illinois sports betting market went live on 9 March with the launch of a BetRivers-branded sportsbook at Rivers Casino Des Plaines. Online sports betting went live in the state when BetRivers launched its online sports betting platform on 18 June through Rivers Casino des Plaines.
In early August, DraftKings became the second online operator to launch in the state of Illinois. FanDuel followed close behind its competitor DraftKings and launched its online sports betting platform in the state in late-August via a partnership with Par-A-Dice Casino.
