Pritzker Extends Mobile Registration; Could Be Green Light For More IL Sportsbooks

Once again, Gov. JB Pritzkerrenews his executive order to continue allowing mobile sports betting registration in Illinois.

The executive order will be in place until at least Nov. 14. For at least another month, Illinois sports bettors will not have to visit a casino in order to sign up for an online sports betting account.

The decision comes as Illinois recently recorded its highest COVID-19 seven-day, rolling case average count to date. On Oct. 12, that number spiked to 2,642.

This is what the renewal means, here & rsquo.

Illinois is expected to have strong October and November profit numbers.

In August, the Illinois sports betting market posted $140 million in handle. That was in an environment where online registration wasn’t allowed until Aug. 21, and BetRivers was the only mobile sportsbook live for the entire month.

We don’t have September numbers yet, but expectations are high. With mobile registration in place for the whole month, five online sportsbooks and the return of football betting, handle should skyrocket past $200 million.

Great projections are also warranted for October and November then that Pritzker has extended distant registration for another month.

In August, Illinois sportsbooks brought in about $7.2 million in revenue. That figure should hit eight figures in each of the next three revenue reports.

And the more the sportsbooks make, the more tax revenue for the state. Tack on the health risk to go with it, and it would have been hard for Pritzker to justify a return to in-person registration.

opportunity to advance through smart registration

In August, BetRivers ruled the market.

It recorded a handle of about$ 118 million, or 84 % of Illinois & rsquo’s total. FanDuel launched on August 28 and DraftKings wasn’t readily available until August 21.

That & rsquo is still a ridiculous market share, though.

However, the profit report for September may be instructive.

Then, DraftKings and FanDuel will have had an entire month of mobile registration under their belts. PointsBet and William Hill also went online in mid-September.

It has been in BetRivers & rsquo’s best interest for the in-person registration requirement to remain in effect ever since DraftKings went live.

That & rsquo, as we can see in the August revenue report, got off to a huge head start in customer acquisition in June and July. Retail sportsbook BetRivers & rsquo is also located in Des Plaines, which is close to Chicago.

In contrast, downstate games have partnered with DraftKings and FanDuel.

The non-BetRivers sportsbooks have a better chance of succeeding for each day that smart membership is allowed.

Having said that, regardless of what happens with in-person registration, BetRivers & rsquo, a sizable lead, is still very popular in Illinois.

Was fresh operators join the battle?

Given how popular the business is, a fresh betting hasn’t even been launched in Illinois for more than one month.

The most recent extension from Pritzker & rsquo gives new operators more motivation to launch.

Unibet is the most obvious candidate to launch next. It has market access via Argosy Casino Alton, and parent Penn National Gaming is a master Illinois passport holder.

This would also seem like a prime opportunity for Barstool, but it apparently doesn’t have plans to launch in new states besides Michigan until 2021.

BetMGM loomsas a prospect, but it is still unclear how it will get to the business.