Illinois Seeks Casino Expansion Before Online Gambling

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Friday, April 4th, 2014 | Written by Stephen Smith

The Midwestern state of Illinois is currently seeking to expand its land-based casino industry, and until the issue is resolved the state will put any plans for regulated online gambling on hold. Commenting on the situation, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, said:

“I think, though, that we cannot take that issue up until we resolve whether or not we’re going to have new casinos in Illinois and that again is very difficult to predict.”

Illinois needs to raise more revenues

In 1991, The Prairie State opened its first casino and in 2012 its ten riverboat casinos had generated $1.639 billion in revenues, funneling $574.34 million in gaming taxes into state coffers. Like other US states, however, Illinois has seen a sharp fall off in its casino figures and so is now desperately trying to find ways to raise more revenue.

Last May, however, a wide ranging bill that would have seen five new casinos, as well as horse tracks, and slot machines at two major airports come to Illinois failed to reach a vote. This time around, two new proposals have surfaced, one similar to the measure which would permit five land-based casinos, and a second which calls for just one casino to be built in Chicago. Speaking on the land-based casino expansion issue, Senate President John Cullerton, explained:

“Problem is, there’s so many different interests. There’s a bunch of folks that don’t believe in gaming, there’s casino interests, there’s horse racing interests, and it’s very hard to thread the needle on that bill.”

As well as competing interests, plans to push casino expansion forward are also likely to face resistance from Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (Democrat), who faces a re-election battle against wealthy Republican nominee Bruce Rauner in November. Already having been accused of failing to improve the state’s drastic financial situation, Quinn said his chief priority was to implement a pension overhaul rather than oversee a drive for casino expansion.

Land-based casinos before online poker

Needless to say, passing online gambling regulation appears even further down the list of priorities for Illinois, even though an industry advocate has estimated the state of 12.88 million people could reap between $200 million and $500 million in annual igaming revenues.

Nevertheless, Illinois has traditionally been a pioneer when it comes to US interactive gaming and, together with New York, was instrumental in the U.S. Justice Department 2011 reinterpretation of the UIGEA after asking for clarification on the law. In addition, in 2012, Illinois became the first state to launch a website allowing online lottery sales. Therefore, Illinois is unlikely to stay on the sidelines of the nascent online gambling industry for long, especially with Illinois Senate President John Cullerton indicating it was foregone conclusion.

There is also the matter of a huge, expected $1.5 billion gap in the state budget next year, and so in spite of resistance from some casino operators concerned about the possible cannibalization of their land-based businesses, Cullerton is determined to eventually pass a bill that would benefit everyone.

“There’s a lot of complications about how it affects the existing gaming industry. That seems to be where the hang up might be right now,” explained Cullerton. “Whenever you have a gaming bill, the other people who are in the gambling industry, whether it be horse racing or existing casinos, they want to be at the table.”

Illinois still committed to igaming push

This year, John Cullerton has certainly made a concerted push to pass new laws making online casinos and card rooms legal in his state. In late February, for instance, The Illinois Executive Senate Committee held a hearing also attended by Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas, in which Cullerton ephasised the fact state residents were already gambling on unlicensed, online websites, but that Illinois was not making any money from their activities.

Picking up his point, John Pappas reiterated strong support for Cullerton’s endeavors, stating: “Any effort to regulate Internet poker should not be viewed as an expansion of gambling in Illinois. Regulation simply would mean corralling the current unregulated marketplace.”

The Illinois Senate President may currently be facing resistance from various gambling interest groups that have stymied his attempts to bring online gambling legislation so far, but when that issue is resolved it will not be long before the state then sees Cullerton making another drive to introduce online gambling to the legislature.