DraftKings Launches In Illinois, But Will In-Person Registration Keep It From Becoming Royalty?

In every state it operates, DraftKings is a significant person in the sports gambling sector. But, the amount of its strength in Illinois is still unknown.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 5, DraftKings Sportsbook is live and accepting in-person and online wagers in Illinois. There are some elements of irony to DraftKings’ story in the Prairie State.

How DraftKings Illinois welcomes new clients

Website bets are today accepted at DraftKings Illinois. But, registering for DraftKings Sportsbook isn’t as easy as downloading the app or going to the website.

That is entirely fault, t DraftKings & rsquo, anyway.

Illinois law requires new account holders to complete their registrations for online wagering in person. In theory, to place bets online, you’ll have to first visit the brick-and-mortar sportsbook at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis.

DraftKings is partially to blame for the existence of that legal principle.

The state government intended it as a “penalty box” for DraftKings’ decision to ignore a 2015 IL attorney general’s opinion that its daily fantasy games constituted illegal gambling.

That will eventually expire, but it will likely take the better part of two years. One of the points of irony is that for Illinois sports bettors who live in places like Chicagoland and the QuadCities, it could prove easier to continue current habits than to switch things up.

Why some IL DraftKings users may continue to wager in various states

Consumers who have been using the wager platform at DraftKings Sportsbook in Indiana and Iowa are included in the in-person registration requirement.

Regardless of whether you already have a sportsbook account in another state, you must visit the Casino Queen in order to place bets on the DraftKings & rsquo app / website in Illinois.

If you’re in Chicago, that would require a nearly five-hour pull one way. If you’re in Rock Island, it will take you around four hours to get there in a vehicle both methods.

There are more practical options, even though it & rsquo is a one-time trip.

Bettors in the greater Chicago region can continue to enter the Hoosier State through the condition line and do all of their wagering it with DraftKings. The same is true for residents of Illinois’ west, close to the Iowa border.

Iowa also requires in-person membership, but Wild Rose Casino in Clinton, Iowa, has a physical DraftKings Sportsbook. That & rsquo is a significantly shorter drive for residents of Rock Island.

You can do all you need to do on the Mississippi River‘s Iowa area once you register. Additionally, Iowa & rsquo’s requirement for in-person registration expires on January 1, 2021. The exact condition will still be in place in Illinois at that point.

That would result in potential tax dollars becoming more revenue for IA and IN rather than IL & rsquo’s state coffers. In this way, the Illinois state might be more significantly impacted by the sentence field than DraftKings.

Even if the account is limited to DraftKings Illinois, the brand also has a lot of room to succeed given the current situation. The St. Louis area isn’t a good place to start, to be honest.

Why are DraftKings in the Land of Lincoln experiencing such doom and gloom?

One of the Midwest’s densest population hubs is in the greater St. Louis region. It’s reasonable for DraftKings to anticipate seeing a lot of activity from across the river since Missouri hasn’t already legalized sports betting.

DraftKings brings advertising capital in addition to brand recognition wherever it goes. It & rsquo is one of the few gambling businesses in Illinois that can afford to operate at a loss in order to gain market share.

Currently, the only online competition is BetRivers Illinois. While PointsBet and WilliamHillmay not be far behind, both of the brick-and-mortar components to those online books are in the greater Chicago area, just like Rivers Casino.

DraftKings, however, is the only company in the St. Louis underground area. It & rsquo is more likely to attract new clients from Springfield, Peoria, and Bloomington.

An exciting development for Illinois sports betting is the launch of DraftKings & rsquo.

For a variety of factors, it is difficult to determine the brand’s market share, but there is still hope that it will eventually take over.