Illinois Sports Betting: Lawmakers Submit Two Bills That Would Update the Existing Sports Wagering Act
Daniel Acker for The Washington Post via Getty Images. Pictured: Illinois State Capitol building.
Illinois lawmakers are trying to bring about a beneficial change to Illinois' existing Sports Wagering Act.
Two House Bills were submitted in late January with the hopes of making a real difference since legalized Illinois sports betting went live in 2020.
House Bill 5376
Lawmakers have introduced a new bill that will hopefully bring a monumental change to sports betting revenue funding around the U.S.
On Jan. 28, Rep. Daniel Didech submitted House Bill 5376, which is a bill that primarily focuses on sports betting tax revenue funding for Illinois Division I colleges.
More specifically, HB 5376 hones in on funding four main areas:
- Mental health aid for college athletes
- Sports betting-related events
- Compliance services (to ensure wagering rules are being adhered to)
- Consistent and beneficial communication between colleges and the Illinois Gaming Board
Furthermore, the tax-specific details of HB 5376 would send 6% of the sports betting tax revenue to the Collegiate Sport Services Fund.
The 6% would be solely taken from the Sports Wagering Fund, which was already created to support collegiate betting.
On the other hand, Didech's other point could raise some eyebrows if it hasn't done so already.
The other portion of the bill focuses allows certain NCAA Division I college athletes and staff to be excluded from participating in sports wagering in Illinois, even if those selected have existing accounts already.
Each Division I college school board would be able to choose which players or staff they wish to be excluded from sports betting.
Senate Bill 3872
The second bill introduced by Sen. Bill Cunningham was Senate Bill 3872, which entails beginning a sports betting exchange program.
Sports betting exchanges are not like traditional sportsbooks, but match bettors with other bettors who want to bet opposite sides of the same game. The exchange then takes a small cut.
The licensing that would be required will only be exclusive to betting exchanges.
SB 3872 passed its first reading stage and has now been assigned to committee.
For further updates on Illinois, and states that will soon legalize online sports betting in 2022 and beyond, check out our legalization tracker.
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