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FanDuel was supposed to have been blocked from the Illinois sports betting market until 2022, but were operating there relatively quickly.
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The initial plan was to offer sports betting from kiosks strategically placed at sports arenas and ballparks such as Wrigley Field in what will be the most ambitious plan to date for stateside sports betting. Just about the only exclusion will be wagering on state school teams such as Northwestern and the University of Illinois, and no betting on the Loyola Ramblers college basketball team either. You can now do so, but only in person.
Oh, and there are two other inclusions: Online fantasy and sports betting power houses Draftkings and FanDuel.
Both were supposed to be on a two-year probation from entering the new Illinois sports gambling market due to their business in states that prohibited daily fantasy sports contests. The blow back was significant enough to allow eliminate any moratorium.
Some surmise the real reason behind Drafkings and FanDuel's planned exclusion was to help already established casino companies in Illinios gain a sufficient enough head start. More specifically, that would be Rivers Des Plaines Casino and owner Neil Bluhm of Rush Street Gaming.
Both companies planned to launch a $1 million ad campaign targeted at Rush Street Gaming.
"… Advocacy advertisements will air on radio broadcast and cable, state- and city-wide, including morning and evening news, late-night talk shows and live sporting events. There will also be a multichannel digital engagement campaign across social media, search, YouTube and over-the-top streaming providers, including Hulu, Roku and radio providers like Spotify and Pandora.”
No in-state run sportsbook is likely to offer wagering online or via retail operations until the earliest the 2019 College Bowls, but more likely the 2020 NFL Playoffs, and that might be a little ambitious. Until that time, Illinois residents will need to rely exclusively on offshore sportsbooks.
Illinois’ gaming expansion is law. When will we see sports betting, more video gambling? https://t.co/MhBcKxc3p4 pic.twitter.com/k05tOmV1Rv
— Google Trends Online (@GoogleTrendsOn1) July 8, 2019
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
