Illinois an Online Gambling Candidate in 2018

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Friday, December 8th, 2017 | Written by Stephen Smith

Early last month, it became obvious Illinois wasn’t about to legalize internet gambling in 2017. Unfortunately, the time for a concerted debate on the issue came and went, and while the state did proceed further than expected, there just wasn’t enough support on the issue to make it happen this year.

Nevertheless, optimists have suggested that the resulting positive momentum created by this year’s efforts point towards a strong effort to legalize online gambling next year as part of an overall gambling expansion bill.

Positive Efforts in 2017

The reality is that more progress was made in the Illinois legislature than many states that had introduced their own online poker and casino bills in 2017. For instance, Senate bill S.208 which seeks to legalize and regulated online gambling and daily fantasy sports sailed through the Senate in May after a unanimous 42-10 vote. The House partner bill H.479 was not as successful, though, and in June got stuck in the House Executive Committee after its hearings were cancelled.

The bill was subsequently brought back onto the agenda during the veto session in October, and following a brief discussion was later tabled for the year. This of course means that H.479 is still very much alive, and is set to be discussed once more after the next legislative session starts in January.

2018 Potential

On January 16th, the Illinois House will open its session to discuss various bills, although attendance is optional for legislators. All members then officially begin working again on January 23, but before then lobbyists and interested parties alike are likely to start scheduling meetings and begin corresponding with one another.

One of the house bill’s sponsors, Illinois Rep. Michael Zalewksi (photo), spoke to Online Poker Report recently about whether the piece of legislation could be passed in 2018, with the Rep. essentially noting that passing gambling legislation is difficult due to the large number of stakeholders with a vested interest on the issue.

Zalewski was confident that a comprehensive package would be put together soon, though, and said that he was encouraged by the input he had received from the horse racing industry, which is interested in opening up more revenue streams, as well as from the video game and casino industries; all of which made it clear to him that there was popular demand for this kind of bill.

As far as a time frame goes, Zalewski mentioned that there would be some big items to handle in January, and then the Democratic primary for Illinois would take up much of February and March. This means that the it could be Spring of 2018 before a broad gaming expansion bill eventually emerges.

Reasons to be Optimistic

There are several reasons online gaming supporters can be optimistic about the future, including the positive momentum garnered by the bill during 2017, and the interest legislators such as Zalewski have shown when it comes to passing a bill through the House. Zalewski has obviously been keeping up with the issue and the special interests involved in order to learn more about what obstacles the bill could face and how to move past them.

Similar legislation was recently passed in Pennsylvania and this has increased the desire to see it passed in Illinois. While Pennsylvania’s gambling expansion bill was subject to some major disagreements, it was eventually passed, and given that Illinois intends to pursue a range of gambling improvements and expansions, lawmakers should therefore consider the Pennsylvania bill to be an appropriate model to build around. On top of this, Illinois can see how Pennsylvania establishes its gambling regulations, and how much money is collected through the introduction of licensing fees.

States such as New York and Michigan are also set to consider legislating online gambling in 2018, which could put even more pressure on Illinois to join the ranks of those states willing to innovate their own gambling industries, and create all the extra jobs and revenue that comes with it. In addition, states such as Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware and perhaps Pennsylvania are set to combine their online poker liquidity in 2018 – further pointing towards the potential for the industry.

While it’s not certain Illinois will legalize online gambling in 2018, it will nonetheless be a front-runner in the race, and one to look out for next year.