Caesars Sportsbook is now available in Illinois, and although it’s not technically a new sportsbook launch, Caesars should become much more of a player in IL than it has been to date.
In September 2020, William Hill launched in Illinois. William Hill then became Caesars by William Hill, and now, the transition to just “Caesars” is fully complete.
The Caesars by William Hill app is now deactivated, and Illinoisans can download the new Caesars Sportsbook app. Existing customers should have received an email with instructions to do so, and their account balances should transfer to the new app within one to two days.
This comes as Illinois returns to online sports betting registration permanently. BetMGM Sportsbook recently became the seventh online sportsbook to launch in the Land of Lincoln.
Caesars, like BetMGM, is making its presence known in Illinois with a new sign-up offer. Here are the details.
Caesars Illinois promotion details
New Caesars Illinois users will receive a bonus $1,100 bet, according to its social media channels.
Here’s how it works:
- You deposit money via the app.
- Enter the promo code when prompted, and the first bet is bonus.
- That means you keep the profits per usual if the bet wins, but if it loses, you get another chance to bet the money. It’s the sports wagering version of the mulligan.
College basketball conference tournaments are in full swing, and there will be hoops all day long now through Sunday. It’s a wonderful time of year.
Caesars/William Hill up to this point
It will be interesting to see if Caesars can make up ground in Illinois because, up until this point, it has been an afterthought.
Caesars/William Hill did not clear the $10 million monthly threshold in IL until November 2021, and it did so again in December. For reference, market leader DraftKings hovers around $300 million in monthly handle.
In fact, Caesars/William Hill has never finished higher than last place among mobile sportsbooks. With that being said, there is certainly room for growth, and Caesars has yet to invest in the Illinois sports betting market.
This is not the case everywhere in the US. In New York, for example, Caesars is a market leader. However, Caesars had been spending a ton in other states on advertising, and it recently vowed to scale back to investors.
But will that scale back apply to Illinois? Caesars has never aggressively pursued the market in the Prairie State, which is robust. Illinois is considered a top-four market nationally, so perhaps Caesars will make an exception in Illinois, based on weird timing hiccups.
Competition can help a sports betting market succeed, and increased effort from Caesars can only help the cause.