The state of Illinois has seen several gambling expansion bills proposed over the last few years but they all seem to slow their momentum at some point and fizzle out. However, a new bill that was proposed and passed on Wednesday may change all that. A new bill, one based on casino and online gambling, was introduced on Wednesday to the Senate Committee and was immediately approved, and now moves on to the next phase.
State senator Terry Link is the primary sponsor of the bill and is hoping that a full Senate vote will take place today. The new bill proposed casinos to be allowed in several areas of the state, including: Rockford, Chicago, Danville, Lake County as well as suburbs of certain areas. This is the same content that similar bills have had in the past but this time a new option has been added to the bill. For the very first time, the legislation is including online gambling into the mix.
The online gambling option with this bill would not allow sports betting but would allow residents in the state to be able to play video poker as well as other casino gaming options. Link commented on this option by stating:
“You could sit there and do what they’re doing right now with offshore betting. You put your credit card number up there. You put x amount of dollars up there for you to bet. But this would be limited to Illinois only. I couldn’t bet with Nevada or New Jersey. It’s for Illinois residents in Illinois.”
The new piece of legislation, titled SB1739, could provide up to $150 million in revenues a year with online gambling, according to Link. The state would also see an additional $400 million+ if casinos are allowed in the state. The Senate Executive Committee seemed to really like the content of the bill and it passed immediately. The bill now moves on and it will be interesting to see if the bill will continue at this rapid rate or if it will slow down and even cease.
The bill itself is over 500 pages and we will hopefully have more to report on the this as more details come to light.
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