Illinois Casinos Still Trying To Get On Same Page On Internet Gambling

Illinois casinos still don’t have a discussion on the speech to use for online and offline gambling.

Since May, the casinos have been pushing for the legalization of internet gaming and they all support it unanimously.

Executive Director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association (ICGA), Tom Swoik, informed Play Illinois that the bill introduced last week by Rep. Bob Rita was drafted by Caesars Entertainment.

He explained that a bill must be legislated before the February 19 deadline. This gives casinos additional time to sort out the details.

“Swoik stated, “They were eager to present something so that we could carry on the conversation and hopefully agree on precisely what should be included in the legislation.”

Illinois casinos’ opinions on virtual gambling

The ICGA represents all but one of the 10 state casinos; Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria is the only exception.

Swoik stated that for the past month, meetings had been held every week to discuss the terminology used in online casinos.

Swoik states, “From my perspective, I don’t see them as very different. In fact, I don’t see any significant distinction. Honestly, I’ve never heard of anyone getting upset with someone else over it.”

Swoik didn’t elaborate on the issues that lead to difficulties in games. However, he had previously highlighted a particular point of dispute: the number of skins. Rita’s bill restricts the maximum number of skins to three, and includes a non-breaking space (nbsp).

In-person registration, which was a contentious point for sports betting, is expected to be another problem. The bill requires in-person registration for the first six months, which is interesting considering the locations of Caesars properties are not in city centers. Caesars runs two Harrah’s casinos in Joliet and Metropolis.

Not all Illinois casinos need to agree with every aspect of a bill’s passage. This was evident in 2019 when the sports betting language was not universally accepted by all casinos.

Swoik said, “They may not have achieved a complete understanding, but I believe they did.”

Online gaming might give casinos the boost they need.

During the COVID-19 era, Swoik is hopeful that lawmakers will acknowledge the necessity for online casino gambling to promote growth in the industry.

Due to casino closures, Illinois missed out on $200 million in casino gambling tax revenue last fiscal year.

Swoik reported that despite games being closed for the entire month of December, online sports bets performed fairly well. He stated, “The state and casinos stand to profit from online gaming. I am of the belief that immediate action should be taken, as if there’s another surge and games have to shut down again, it would be a loss for everyone.”

In his recent budget address, Governor JB Pritzker proposed cuts amounting to $700 million for state agencies and $932 million for corporate and business tax loopholes.

According to Swoik, while gambling clearly won’t cover the gap or retirement debt, it could be a potential source of new income – and every little bit counts. One of the primary reasons for the passage of the gaming expansion bill in 2019 is thus noted.