Prairie State has quietly emerged as one of the top betting markets in the country, and the state is now considering making some changes to Illinois sports betting.
One of the few limitations in Illinois is the inability to gamble on in-state college teams via mobile devices. Currently, any bets placed on in-state collegiate teams had to be placed in person and could not be live bets. The provisions were put in place by a bill approved during the previous General Assembly’s 2021 veto session (HB 3136). But it will expire on July 1st.
This is what prompted Rep. Jonathan Carroll to introduce a new bill – House Bill 4041. HB 4041 seeks to reverse this restriction, granting teams some leeway while still excluding player performances.
The Illinois General Assembly’s House Gaming Committee held a subject matter hearing on it last week.
What Schools Would Be Included?
HB 4041 would allow mobile sportsbooks to offer Tier 1 wagering in Illinois on the state’s 13 Division I basketball teams and seven Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) or Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) schools. A Tier 1 Sports Wager is a Sports Wager that is determined solely by the final score or outcome of the sports event and is placed before the sports event has begun.
While the University of Illinois and Northwestern University are the most prominent in-state betting interests due to their affiliation with the Big Ten Conference, this bill applies to only 13 Illinois college and university basketball programs, including:
- Bradley
- Chicago State
- DePaul
- Eastern Illinois
- Illinois State
- Loyola
- Northern Illinois
- Southern Illinois
- Southern Illinois Edwardsville (SIUE)
- University of Illinois Chicago (UIC)
- Western Illinois
The seven FBS or FCS schools the bill pertains to include:
- University of Illinois
- Illinois State University
- Eastern Illinois University
- Northern Illinois University
- Northwestern University
- Southern Illinois University
- Western Illinois University
Smaller Illinois schools with sports programs play in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) and the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) at the lower levels (Division 2 and Division 3). But legal bookmakers only take bets on Division 1 events.
College Sports Betting is Big in Illinois
College sports betting is a significant draw in Illinois, generating more than $1 billion in handle in 2022. The NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments accounted for nearly $290 million. In the first two months of this year, more than $386 million was wagered.
Carroll said that expanding pre-game wagering to mobile platforms has the potential to increase revenue from college wagers by 20%.
Not Everyone Is On-Board With The Potential Change
At the House Gaming Committee hearing, the athletic director at the University of Illinois, Josh Whitman, argued against expanding in-state college betting. He represented the state’s 13 college athletic directors.
“Our athletic programs bear 100% of the risk of the decisions that you all are making,” Whitman said. “By implementing more broad-based in-state collegiate sports gambling, the people who are placed at risk are our student-athletes, our university students, and the integrity of our contests. Yet there are no resources there to help us address how to mitigate some of those risks.”
Whitman claimed that harassment of Illinois college athletes had escalated in the last two years since in-person, in-state school sports betting launched.
Player Performances Still Off-Limits
Carroll’s bill does not mention individual prop bets on athletes participating in games featuring in-state colleges or live betting. That means betting live or on individual performances for in-state collegiate players will remain unavailable even for mobile users if the bill is passed.
What’s Next For Sports Betting Bill in Illinois?
More than 90% of all wagers in Illinois are placed online. And while the likelihood of the bill passing remains hard to predict, the move to ease limitations on bet types appears to be gaining traction.
If the legislature takes no action this session, Illinois will prohibit any in-state college wagering beginning July 1 (when HB 3136 expires).
But with support increasing and a noticeable increase in mobile users, it appears lawmakers will attempt to remove restrictions on mobile platforms. Bookmakers Review will continue to follow the developments.
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