Illinois Sportsbooks Hindered By In-Person Registration Rule

• Illinois sportsbooks handled $596.4 million in sports wagers in September.
• A bill will see the in-person registration requirement removed.
• There’s no set date on when the in-person registration bill will be removed.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill – Illinois sportsbooks handled an impressive amount of money in sports wagers in September, but that number may be handicapped by a law requiring in-person registration for online sports betting.

The Effect Of In-Person Sportsbook Registration

Illinois sportsbooks reportedly handled $596.4 million in sports bets in September. While being the state’s second-biggest wagering handle, isn’t quite as high as the $633.6 million generated in March of this year.

• March 2021 handle: $633,614,957
• September 2021 handle: $596,455,694

Illinois sports betting features a law that requires in-person registration at a sportsbook before residents can utilize online sports betting apps.

This requirement likely reduced the number of people who may otherwise have been interested in getting started for the first time.

Will Online Registration Be Possible?

Luckily, bill HB 3136 recently signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker will put an end to the in-person registration requirement.

Although the exact date of when that might occur is not yet certain.

“There was concern that’s been brought up that the date for allowing that online registration to occur is nebulous in the current statute and could push online registration well into the spring and the summer,” said Bill Cunningham, an Illinois State Senator. “That would potentially cost the state millions of dollars in revenue.”

Illinois September Sports Betting Revenue

Although sportsbooks did not handle as much money in September as they did in March, they did generate more revenue in September than they did in March, but not by much.

• March 2021 revenue: $44,317,702
• September 2021 revenue: $44,579,564

Once the in-person registration is no longer mandatory, it’s likely a slew of newly interested people will be signing up to take advantage of Illinois legal sports betting. When this happens, expect both monthly sports betting handle and revenue records will be broken.

News tags: Bill Cunningham | Illinois | J.B. Pritzker