Illinois Rolled Back In-Person Registration for Online Betting

Gamblers that want to play online in Illinois now hove to register in-person. This is because the Executive Order which allowed online registration was effective until yesterday, July 26.

In-Person Registration for Online Betting Rolled Back

Creating an online betting account now must be done in-person in Illinois. From today, July 27, gamblers that want to open an online account must visit one of the state’s land-based casinos. The measure, which was previously eased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was rolled back.

This happened following Friday’s announcement by Governor J.B. Pritzker’s office, where some Executive Orders were extended. Executive Order 2020-41 which temporarily suspended the requirement for in-person registry of players who want to bet online was effective through July 26. However, the Order was not extended on Friday. This means that users now must visit a land-based venue in order to register for online betting activity.

Currently, one land-based operator has launched an active online gambling app – Rivers Casino Des Plaines. With that in mind, some players will have to travel significant distance if they would want to open up an online betting account. Moreover, this raises a question as to how safe the registration is going to be in-person, considering the post-COVID-19 environment. With that being said, state officials may decide to roll back the relaxed measure given the recent surges in positive COVID-19 cases.

Online Betting in Illinois off to a Shaky Start

The regulated online gambling market in Illinois was launched in March this year. This was the result of the Sports Wagering Act signed into law by Governor Pritzker back in July 2019. According to the Sports Wagering Act, for the first 18 months, any player that wants to create an online betting account must do so in-person in a land-based property.

With that in mind, amid the growing COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois shut the doors of its casinos. This was an effort by the state to reduce the spread of the respiratory disease. Keeping in mind that the gaming venues were closed, early in June, the Governor introduced the Executive Order 2020-41 which relaxed the measure for in-person registry effectively allowing users to create accounts online.

Later on, from July 1, the gaming venues were allowed to reopen their doors, although operating under reduced capacity. Looking at how the COVID-19 spread has impacted the gaming industry, we can honestly say that the online betting in the state was off to a shaky start. But this is not the only industry affected by COVID-19. Last week, the hospitality industry in the state said that hundreds of thousands of jobs are threatened due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) not going away.