Not On Par: Why Bettors Can’t Wager On Golf At Illinois Sportsbooks

Illinois residents can no longer place bets on PGA Tour events or file for sports gaming on mobile devices. Illinois has legalized sports gambling, but the state’s implementation has been disappointing.

What’s going on with the golfing gambling in Illinois?

In late July, BetRivers, the only live mobile sportsbook at the time, took down PGA Tour, NASCAR and KBO lines. The PGA Tour was most curious, as it was extremely popular among Illinois bettors sans traditional sporting events.

But because of how the state’s gaming bill is written, there are integrity concerns with PGA Tour betting.

If a person misses the split, their costs for the event will be higher than their pay. That & rsquo is a no-no in the current sports betting regulations in Illinois. The obvious concern, however improbable it may seem, is that players may purposefully skip the split in order to win money that isn’t bet.

Additionally, it may apply to players who just receive a small portion of the purse each weekend. That’s where we need to get into the weeds, & rsquo.

Even if a person andrsquo wins some money, had their flight, training, and caddie costs be higher than their tournament fees? perhaps, which results in a completely different operational mess.

Right now, that would be on the sportsbooks to sort out. BetRivers, DraftKings at Casino Queen and William Hill at GrandVictoria are all live, as is the Argosy Casino Alton.

Illinois golfing betting might come back.

Is a solution coming soon? Most likely, which is encouraging.

Golf betting was reinstated by Illinois sportsbooks on July 23, but the Illinois Gaming Board ( IGB ) must wait 30 days before responding.

The BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club starts on Aug. 27, which could coincide with golf’s return to the Illinois books. Olympia Fields is a southern suburb of Chicago.

And while the PGA Championship was only offered sporadically in the state, the final two majors on the schedule this fall — the US Open and The Masters— should be available to sports bettors. The Open Championship won’t take place in 2020.

More problems from the rhinovirus in Illinois

While the lack of golf options is irritating, the biggest story in Illinois sports betting remains the in-person registration requirement, even as COVID-19 numbers are rising.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker briefly suspended the in-person registration requirement early in the summer but did not extend his executive order in late July.

Now, in order to enroll for online sports betting, punters must go to an Illinois game. Due to its location in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, BetRivers has a significant advantage over DraftKings( East St. Louis ). During the brief wireless registration period, BetRivers was likewise live, whereas DraftKings wasn’t.

Increased COVID – 19 situations in Metro East

Argosy and William Hill are currently retail-only.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Here & rsquo is a look at the most recent COVID – 19 positivity rates. East St. Louis is included in Region 4, that & rsquo, s right & mdash.

7-day average local enthusiasm for As of August 12( personal charts in the following comments ) IL’s 11 locations.

3.4 % in Region 1 & ndash
5.5 % of Region 2 & ndash
6.0 % Region 3 & ndash
8.4 %, # 128680, Region 4 & ndash,
7.5 % of Region 5 & ndash
2.4 % of Region 6 & ndash
6.7 % of Region 7 & ndash
Region 8 & ndash, 4.9 %
5.7 % of Region 9 & ndash
Place 10 andndash, 6.0 %
Region 11 – 5.0% pic.twitter.com/iTdapsfBeg

— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) August 15, 2020

Because Region 4 has recorded three straight days of a positivity rate higher than 8%, Pritzker implemented mitigation efforts that went into effect Aug. 18. Pritzker said in a statement:

We are implementing stricter countermeasures that take into account the distinctive aspects in this region in collaboration with local authorities in the Metro East area and across the border in St. Louis. If you haven’t been taking( the coronavirus ) seriously yet, now is the time to start, Dr. ( Ngozi) Ezike and I are pleading with local authorities and locals alike. & rdquo,

Admittedly, the restrictions are minor.

Along with limited capacity, restaurants, bars — including casinos — within Region 4 must close by 11 p.m. It’s curious that Chicagoans still have to drive into a COVID-19 hot zone to register for online sports betting rather than simply signing up from their residence.

To summarize: If you’re a Chicagoland bettor who wanted to put some action on the Wyndham Championship at DraftKings this past weekend, we send our condolences.