Illinois Seeks to Make iGaming Legal, Address Budget Deficit

Illinois lawmakers are once again trying to legalize online casinos. This comes as part of a broader effort to expand America’s iGaming sector.

Illinois Tries to Get iGaming Legalized Again

Representative Edgar González and Senator Cristina Castro are once again trying to legalize online casinos in Illinois. The two lawmakers submitted a House bill (HB 3080) and a Senate bill (SB 1963) in hopes of succeeding where they had previously failed.

The former of the two measure is currently sitting at the House’s Rules Committee while the latter is still pending assignment.

Under the proposal, which has been dubbed the Internet Gaming Act, Illinois’ gaming licensees will be allowed to operate up to three online gaming brands. Permitted gaming verticals would include online slots, table games, poker, and live-dealer titles. Online sports betting, on the other hand, is already available to consumers in the Prairie State.

Per the proposed framework, operators will have to pay a 25% tax on adjusted iGaming revenue. Tax money would be channeled toward the State Gaming Fund, which fuels gambling regulation and provides money to education in Illinois.

In addition to that, the bills outline a contingency for license renewal and say that renewals will be based on staffing thresholds at operators’ traditional casinos. As a result, a decline in workforce numbers could affect a license renewal.

The VLT Industry Is Likely to Oppose the Act

The Internet Gaming Act is not really new to Illinois. González and Castro had previously submitted identical measures, which were also dubbed the Illinois Gaming Act and had similar proposals and objectives.

The duo has championed iGaming for the past two legislative sessions, although the previous efforts failed to gain traction. In the meantime, the challenges faced by the previous attempts are still relevant. Illinois’ native video lottery terminal (VLT) industry, for one, is almost certain to oppose the legalization of the new vertical. VLT’s, which are very popular among players in Illinois, are likely to take a blow financially if iGaming is truly legalized.

The Silver Lining

Not everything is gloom and doom, though, as Illinois is currently facing a much different financial situation than it did during the previous attempt to get online casinos legalized. In fact, Castro and González’ bills came shortly after Governor Pritzker promoted gaming as a possible way to address the state’s budget deficit.

For reference, the Prairie state is currently facing a $3 billion budget deficit. While this is definitely not great for the state, it could be a boon to the legalization of iGaming. Promoters of the Illinois Gaming Act believe that only a high-profitability vertical such as iGaming can address the deficit.

In addition to that, the workforce number contingency for license renewal is a possible effort to get casino industry workers on the side of the Illinois Gaming Act.