Two bills that sought to legalize online casinos have seen no recent movement
A pair of proposals to legalize iGaming in Illinois failed to pass committee before the end of the legislative last week after lawmakers couldn’t come to a compromise that would put the bills up for a vote.
Senate Bill 1565, introduced by Sen. Cristina Castro, and House Bill 2239, sponsored by Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr., were both stalled during the committee process and weren’t debated or voted on before the end of last Friday’s final session in Springfield.
The earliest state legislators can revive the online casino bills is when the new biennium starts in January 2025, after the Senate Subcommittee on Gaming, Wagering, and Racing and the House Gaming Committee in the Illinois State House delayed both proposals.
What that means is that Sen. Castro and Rep. Gonzalez must wait until next year to resubmit the online casino bills.
The two bills have similar language, each proposing a 15% tax on operators’ iGaming revenue. Both legislators and their backers say the extra tax revenue for the state is their primary motivation for supporting the proposals.
Only six US states have legalized iGaming, while over 30 offer online sports betting. The battle to legalize online casinos in most states has been controversial, with retail casinos opposing online gaming and making efforts to delay them with lobbying measures regarding licensing. They also want a clear definition of their role in the market if online casinos are approved.
Online casinos are legal across the border in Michigan. According to recent investigations, iGaming hasn’t negatively affected revenue at retail casinos in the state, with most still below the revenue level they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gonzalez and Castro have proposed iGaming bills in Illinois several times, each resulting in the bills being stalled in committee.
