Illinois Casinos Close Just As Legal Sports Betting Begins In The State

At the Illinois Gaming Board’s demand, Illinois casinos started a 14-day closing on Monday as the nation continues to experience more lockdowns and closures following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Before an announcement from the Illinois Gaming Board, Rivers Casino in Des Plaines declared a suspension of its operations through a press release on Friday. This decision followed the announcement of cancellations and suspensions by most sports leagues and organizations in the country, resulting in sportsbooks being temporarily inactive, except for futures bets.

For the health and safety of our staff, visitors, and the wider Chicagoland community, Rivers Casino Des Plaines will be partially shut down on Sunday, March 15, for a two-week period. While we have had no reported cases of COVID-19 on-site, we are taking this precautionary measure to support the social distancing recommended by health officials. During this time, all 1,500 River Team Members will receive their full pay and benefits, including management. Updates will be provided as they arise.

Shortly afterwards, the Illinois Gaming Board implemented a mandate for all Illinois casinos to close on Monday. This effectively pushed back the closure date of Rivers & rsquo by one day.

 

Fresh sportsbooks’ hard timing

After a lengthy process completed just in time for March Madness — the biggest sports betting event in the US due to its duration and number of games — Rivers launched its first sportsbook, Illinois & rsquo, on March 9. However, the opportunity was cut short when the NCAA cancelled the next year’s NCAA Tournament in response to the escalating coronavirus outbreak, following the cancellation of most conference tournaments.

Illinois Governor J. Rivers asserted that B. Pritzker made the correct decision to cancel all events with over 1,000 attendees, an announcement he made on Thursday.

Eddie Olczyk, an NHL legend, made the first legal sports bet in Illinois on Monday at Rivers.

However, before the NHL was officially suspended on Thursday, the MLB announced a delay. The NBA was the first to respond swiftly after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID – 19 on Wednesday evening. Within the next 24 hours, due to that positive test, the majority of the sports industry was essentially shut down.

 

Beginning of the Argosy Casino Alton casino was delayed

The Argosy Casino Alton had been preparing to become the second sportsbook to open in Illinois on Monday. However, this has now been postponed until casinos are allowed to reopen. With the current severity of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s likely that this will extend beyond the 14-day closure mandated by the Illinois Gaming Board.

Some NBA officials have suggested that June may bring potential profit. The CDC recommended on Sunday to avoid gatherings or activities involving 50 or more people for the next eight days. This would postpone the reopening of Argosy and the comeback of the state’s 10 casinos until mid-May.

The Illinois Gaming Board announced on Monday that all of the state’s video gaming machines will be shut down. Two days after the Governor’s announcement, the majority of these systems will be inaccessible. Governor Pritzker has also mandated that all bars and restaurants only accept takeout orders.