The legislative session is coming to an end with no progress in online gambling
Three weeks remain in the Illinois legislative session, and lawmakers still haven’t discussed moving forward with online casino legislation. Rep. Dan Didech, chair of the Illinois House Gaming Committee, failed to add HB2239 to the agenda after one hearing and doesn’t believe it will go further before the session ends on May 24.Â
“For a variety of reasons, the state budget has been on much more stable footing the last few years and we expect that to continue going forward. So we’re not seeing fiscal pressures to generate those sorts of revenues,” Didech told PlayUSA.
HB2239, proposed by Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, would establish the Internet Gaming Act. The bill, referred to the Rules Committee on April 5, allows three skins per license issued and requires operators to pay a 15% tax on gaming revenue.Â
Didech proposed HB5307 early in the current session, which seeks to create a task force for problem gambling. The legislation aims to “provide recommendations to the General Assembly on how the State should continue to meet its responsibility to assist those who suffer from a gambling problem or disorder.” The bill was sent to the Rules Committee on April 19.
“I think our gambling expansion has been a success for Illinois, but it’s our responsibility to be aware of the effects of that legislation and what, if anything, we need to do to mitigate those effects,” said Didech in February. “Anything we do to address problem gambling needs to be data and evidence-driven.”
The Senate’s iGaming bill, SB1656, missed a third-reading deadline on May 3. However, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Cristina Castro, believes it’s still not dead, as some form of online casinos could still become part of the budget.
