Illinois Passes Several Bills to Enact Betting Law Changes

The two bills that will most likely end up with Gov. J.B. Pritzker try to focus on different aspects of improving the standards for problem gambling in the state and also put a pin in the debate on what to do with in-state college betting. As the rapid expansion of gambling products has continued, lawmakers have begun addressing the need to have a more comprehensive and reliable response to the issue.

Protecting Sports Bettors in Illinois

In New Jersey, a bill is trying to ensure that underage gamblers who are caught at gambling venues are referred to treatment facilities and not outright punished. SB 1508 has gathered enough momentum to make it both out of the House and Senate, meaning that it will be down to Gov. Pritzker to decide its fate.

The change here basically wants sportsbooks that are licensed in the state to display notifications to consumers every hour. These notifications should include the amount that has been spent, and the bill takes its cue from problem gambling AI-powered technology that is used to inform customers in other jurisdictions of their actual spending habits in real time.

The bill had very little opposition throughout both houses and it was voted with a 2:1 majority in each comparing those in favor to those opposed to the suggestion. This is a good change to the regulated gambling landscape in the state and one that does not offer a major overhaul of the gambling laws while passing a meaningful and effective rule.

Having push-ups pop every hour, though, maybe a bit of an arbitrary number. To effectively implement these messages, they may need to be triggered based on different criteria – the amount spent, frequency of betting, a sudden increase in betting activity, and so on. Only specific research into what works best would be able to determine this.

Figuring Out In-State Collegiate Betting

Regardless, the bill is a good step in the right direction. Another bill that passed does not have to do so much with gambling as it secures some additional time for lawmakers to figure out betting on college teams is SB 0089.

The bill has already passed and it’s effectively a one-year extension of allowing operators to accept bets on in-state college events. Previously, SB 0089 did not feature much or any sports betting language, but it has been overhauled recently to do so.

This is not a final decision on how to proceed with in-play college bets, but it will give lawmakers sufficient time to consider the matter during next year’s legislative session.