Illinois Stumbles, While Iowa and Indiana Ready Sports Betting

Of the three states racing to become the first state to offer sports betting in the Midwest, Iowa and Indiana are ready to go, while Illinois has no start date on the calendar.

Even with Illinois’ sports betting law coming into effect around six weeks ago, the state’s gaming board has grinded to a halt, lost in the red tape of creating regulations for the industry.

Initially, lawmakers in the state believed that Illinois would be ready for the start of the NFL season but the latest setback has ruined those dreams.

At a recent meeting of the Illinois Gaming Board, members said that rules would start being released to operators soon but as it stands there is no start date on the books for sports betting.

“We’re creating an entire industry from scratch. You’ve got to take time to do that deliberately and not rush into something that either doesn’t work or has problems or any number of other concerns,” gaming board administrator Marcus Fruchter said.

Source: chicago.suntimes.com

How Close is Iowa to Starting Sports Betting?

Iowa appears to be on track to offer sports betting in the state later this week.

Where Iowa stands apart from the other states, especially Illinois, is that their licensing fee is one of the lowest in America at $45,000 for the initial fee with $10,000 due annually.

Iowa also takes one of the lowest tax rates on betting revenue at just 6.75% in paperwork released by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.

In comparison, Illinois is charging a staggering license fee to the state’s initial 13 betting operators that could max out at $10 million based upon the money taken in each year.

The one difference between Illinois and Iowa is that Illinois will offer sports betting at arenas and stadiums of professional teams.

Later this week, operators William Hill and PointsBet are expected to begin offering betting in Iowa at their partner physical brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.

If the sportsbooks open at some point in the next few days, Iowa will have legal sports betting less than three months after the state’s governor signed the bill into law.

Will Indiana Offer Sports Betting by the Beginning of the NFL Season?

Indiana seems poised to offer wagering on NFL games in time for opening night on September 5th.

The major hurdle for the state is the approval of sports wagering regulations on Aug. 28th by the state’s gaming commission.

If the commission finds no issues with the proposed regulations, then casinos and their sportsbooks could offer wagering by the first NFL game of the 2019 season.

Assuming the gaming board passes the regulations, then the law goes into effect on September 1st in Indiana.

The state’s largest casino, the Horseshoe in Hammond, is rushing the construction of their sportsbook to make the potential early September date.

Indiana is primed to steal customers from neighboring Illinois because they will offer bets on Illinois college sports, a wager that is outlawed in the Land of Lincoln.

Although only a handful of sportsbooks will be ready on opening day in Indiana, the passing of the regulations will certainly create more betting opportunities throughout the state in the months to come.