Illinois Sports Betting Laws
If you live in Illinois, you can bet on sports right from your home! Thanks to the new
sports betting law, you can legally bet on professional, college, and amateur sports
in the state.
Before the Illinois sports betting law went into effect, betting on in-state college

teams was prohibited live casino Malaysia. But after the legislation passed, lawmakers enacted the so-
called “college carve-out” to allow for betting on in-state college teams. It was also

ruled that online betting was legal on in-state professional and amateur sports. This
gave Illinois the ability to create a statewide retail sports betting market.

Online sports betting in Illinois is regulated by the Illinois Gaming Board. The Board
began drafting regulations in the summer and opened a public comment period in
December. A final rule on sports betting was approved in March 2020. As part of the
rules, sportsbooks were required to purchase official league data. In addition,
sportsbooks had to wait an 18-month period before offering standalone mobile apps.
Several new licensees have been awarded. FanDuel, DraftKings, and PointsBet are
some of the companies that have been awarded licenses. Each of these companies
offers an array of wagering options, including risk-free bets and self-serve kiosks.
Sportsbooks in Illinois have been legally permitted to operate since August 2018. In
the last six months, two other states, Arkansas and Iowa, have officially legalized
sports betting. Nevada is the only state that hasn’t yet allowed online sports betting.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports
Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional. States were granted the power to
legalize sports betting, and more than half have since done so. However, some
countries, such as France, have proposed new laws to regulate internet gambling.
These countries argue that advertising on online gambling sites is illegal aid and
abetting.

Pennsylvania has already legalized sports betting. The first legal wager was placed
in March 2020. Since then, multiple sites have begun taking bets. Caesars
Sportsbook opened a soft retail sportsbook in Capital One Arena in Washington,
D.C., and Oregon launched a mobile sportsbook in October. The State of Connecticut
is expected to legalize online sports betting by 2021.
Illinois will have three stand-alone mobile sports betting licenses. However, the
state’s online registration system will not begin until two years after the first retail
wagers are accepted. Unlike other states, the online registration process will not be
open to everyone, only to residents in the state.
Several other states, such as Mississippi, have not yet announced whether or not
they will offer mobile sports betting. Mississippi, like Illinois, only offers in-state
sports bets at land-based casinos. During the era of PASPA, only Nevada offered
USA-wide sports betting.
Other states, such as Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, haven’t yet made any
plans to begin offering mobile sports betting. Although it will take some time for
these states to build their own mobile products, the industry is poised to expand and
reach new audiences.