From an operator standpoint, Illinois has just about everything one could ask for when it comes to sports wagering: a metropolis, professional sports teams, easy access to mobile betting, room for more online operators, and available licensee opportunities.
Now in its fourth year of conducting business and firmly established as a top-three market nationally, there is one area where the Land of Lincoln has yet to hit paydirt — finding an operator wanting to go through the full process of becoming an online-only licensee. While no licensing process is easy, the Illinois Gaming Board has as thorough a vetting process as any state before awarding a license.
Almost certainly, the $20 million price tag has provided plenty of reason for pause or to explore other business strategies. FanDuel and DraftKings were originally expected to go the online-only route, only to instead partner with a casino and enter Illinois paying half that amount.
The IGB has gone through the process twice now of accepting bids for the three online-only licenses available, but it has found only one operator each time to have met “the minimum qualifications for licensure.” On both occasions, that operator eventually withdrew its application. In the more recent case, Betway, which withdrew its application before the IGB reached a determination in the initial process that ended in April 2022, bailed late last month without providing a reason.