Illinois Sports Betting Organizes Basketball Tournament

Illinois sports betting will be up and running in time for the March Madness college basketball tournament. The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) late last month issued the first three sports betting licenses to Penn National Gaming, Eldorado Resorts, and Midwest Gaming & Entertainment.

Sports betting, both land-based and mobile, became legal in Illinois through a massive gaming expansion package signed last June. Since then, the IGB has been laying down rules that will govern how the game is gambled in Lincoln Land.

Under the Illinois Sports Wagering Act, the state’s 10 casinos, three-horse race tracks, and seven sports stadiums can obtain sports betting licenses. Each comes at a price of $ 10 million.

This fee is fairly low – only matched in Pennsylvania’s hefty tax gaming industry – operators such as Penn National and Eldorado receive 18 months of exclusivity from non-land based sports betting companies like DraftKings and FanDuel.

The governor has expressed delight that Illinois sportsbooks will open for business from March Madness, receiving revenue to rebuild states, universities, and hospitals.