{"id":169539,"date":"2021-04-04T17:51:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T00:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=169539"},"modified":"2021-04-05T10:04:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T17:04:11","slug":"pritzker-ends-mobile-registration-for-sports-betting-in-illinois","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pritzker-ends-mobile-registration-for-sports-betting-in-illinois\/","title":{"rendered":"Pritzker Ends Mobile Registration for Sports Betting as COVID Cases Rise in Illinois"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATED (4\/5 1 pm ET) – To include quote from Illinois Casino Gaming Association on mobile registration issue.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has allowed a COVID-19 emergency regulation that allowed sports bettors to register for online apps remotely to sunset. That means that as of Sunday, gamblers who want to bet using their phones, but don\u2019t have the requisite app to do it, will need to travel to the participating casino first.<\/p>\n

\"J.B.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker receives a COVID-19 vaccine shot at the state fairgrounds in Springfield on March 24. On Friday, he announced he was ending an emergency order allowing sports bettors to register online for mobile wagering accounts. (Image: GovPritzker\/Twitter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s not the first time the Democratic governor has ended the provision. He initially created it last June, when major sporting events were returning to action, but the state\u2019s casinos remained closed. By late July, as casinos reopened, the governor ended the provision. However, Pritzker reversed course<\/a> in late August when an uptick in COVID cases prompted the state to reduce operating hours at some casinos.<\/p>\n

When Illinois passed its sports betting law in 2019, it allowed sportsbooks to offer mobile apps. But the law required bettors to physically travel to casinos to register first. That was a nod to some casino operators, who feared mobile-only operators would dominate the market.<\/p>\n

By law, the in-person registration requirement is supposed to be in effect until a mobile-only operator is selected. The earliest that can happen is next year.<\/p>\n

Illinois Sportsbooks Call for In-Person Registration to End<\/h2>\n

FanDuel and DraftKings, the initial targets for the mobile-only requirement, responded by establishing partnerships with casinos and racetracks to avoid the delay. However, those partnerships are with downstate venues, hours away from Chicago, home to most of the state\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

When Pritzker lifted the restriction, it enabled them to dominate the market. In January, those two outfits held nearly 72 percent of the state market.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, their representatives were among the harshest critics of Pritzker\u2019s latest move.<\/p>\n

Upset about this? So are we!\u201d tweeted Illinois lobbyist Jeremy Kudon, who represents some of the largest sportsbooks in the state. \u201cFanDuel and DraftKings fought tooth and nail to keep an in-person signup mandate out of the original law. And we will fight to change it for good.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s unknown just how many customers both sportsbooks have in the state. And while the move shouldn\u2019t necessarily knock DraftKings or FanDuel from their perches, their inability to easily register new bettors may hinder growth in a state that positioned itself almost immediately as a top five market.<\/p>\n

Others chirping about this on Twitter included Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who posted a video offering specials for people who registered before the mobile registration order ended on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

They’re not alone. Tom Swoik, executive director for the Illinois Casino Gaming Association told Casino.org<\/em> Monday that “the majority of my members want mobile registration<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Rising COVID-19 Cases May Retrigger Restrictions<\/h2>\n

Pritzker\u2019s order is a little head-scratching, considering that key COVID statistics in Illinois are on the rise.<\/p>\n

\n

The number of new cases daily have exceeded 2,000 every day except for one since March 24, according to information from the Illinois Department of Public Health. Hospitalizations are on the rise as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The numbers are rising high enough that health officials in Cook County, the state\u2019s largest, are saying that business restrictions could resume if the trends don\u2019t reverse course in the near future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve seen over 600 new cases in suburban Cook in our jurisdiction alone,” said Dr. Rachel Rubin, Cook County\u2019s senior medical officer told Chicago\u2019s ABC7<\/a><\/em>. “And so that means that we are in the beginnings of another surge.”<\/p>\n

Rubin added that that could lead to renewing restrictions on indoor activities if the data shows they are responsible for the increased caseloads.<\/p>\n

Swoik said the casino association is watching the caseload numbers closely and hopeful they’ll start trending downwards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATED (4\/5 1 pm ET) – To include quote from Illinois Casino Gaming Association on mobile registration issue. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has allowed a COVID-19 emergency regulation that allowed sports bettors to register for online apps remotely to sunset. That means that as of Sunday, gamblers who want to bet using their phones, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":169549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPritzker Ends Mobile Registration for Sports Betting in Illinois<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The sports betting order by Pritzker comes as Illinois sees an increase in key COVID statistics, including new cases and hospitalizations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pritzker Ends Mobile Registration for Sports Betting in Illinois\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The sports betting order by Pritzker comes as Illinois sees an increase in key COVID statistics, including new cases and hospitalizations.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pritzker-ends-mobile-registration-for-sports-betting-in-illinois\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-05T00:51:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-05T17:04:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ExRL5SvXAAE_yki.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1022\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"574\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pritzker-ends-mobile-registration-for-sports-betting-in-illinois\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pritzker-ends-mobile-registration-for-sports-betting-in-illinois\/\",\"name\":\"Pritzker Ends Mobile Registration for Sports Betting in Illinois\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pritzker-ends-mobile-registration-for-sports-betting-in-illinois\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pritzker-ends-mobile-registration-for-sports-betting-in-illinois\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ExRL5SvXAAE_yki.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-05T00:51:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-05T17:04:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"The sports betting order by Pritzker comes as Illinois sees an increase in key COVID statistics, including new cases and hospitalizations.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pritzker-ends-mobile-registration-for-sports-betting-in-illinois\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pritzker-ends-mobile-registration-for-sports-betting-in-illinois\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pritzker-ends-mobile-registration-for-sports-betting-in-illinois\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ExRL5SvXAAE_yki.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ExRL5SvXAAE_yki.jpg\",\"width\":1022,\"height\":574,\"caption\":\"Illinois Gov. 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