The answers to if and when you can register for an online sportsbook in Illinois has been a roller coaster. We, at PlayIllinois, can give you the long and the short version of the tale of online sportsbook registration here.
Yes, yes, you can.
Sports bettors in Illinois can register for legal online sportsbooks completely over the internet. However, that may be the case only temporarily. While the Sports Wagering Act states that bettors must visit an Illinois casino to create an online account, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wretch in that regulation.
In response, Gov. JB Pritzker put an executive order in place in August 2020 to allow for online sportsbook registration. He extended the EO again until March, in response to extremely high coronavirus numbers in Illinois.
Without it, new sports betting customers in Illinois would have to visit a retail sportsbook partner in order to complete their account registration.
However, even if Pritzker extends the executive order again and again, it will eventually expire, and the in-person registration mandate will resume.
The Illinois law says the in-person mandate sunsets when the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) issues the first of three online-only operator licenses. The law bars the IGB from issuing any of those licenses until 540 days after the first brick-and-mortar sportsbook starts taking bets. That clock began ticking in March 2020 when BetRivers Sportsbook took its first bets. With that in mind, the face-to-face mandate should expire in September 2021.
When that occurs, residents and visitors who haven’t yet registered for any online sportsbook in Illinois will have to make plans to do visit their land-based partner. Furthermore, there are a few pieces of information you’ll need to have on hand. The first is an update on whether you need to step foot inside the casino or off-track betting (OTB) site.
Well, it depends.
It depends on whether Pritzker is permitting sportsbooks to accept registrations online (see the top of the page for the latest news).
It also depends on the sportsbook from which you’re registering because Illinois law doesn’t explicitly state you must register from inside the four walls of a brick-and-mortar casino.
DraftKings Sportsbook in Illinois allows bettors to register on their phones from the parking lot. The property, DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis, has set up Bluetooth beacons and WiFi in its parking lot to satisfy the state’s requirement for you to be on-site when you register.
The other four online sportsbooks in Illinois use a traditional route to registration. For potential BetRivers, FanDuel, PointsBet and William Hill sportsbook customers, you have to go into the related casinos or off-track betting sites to complete your registration.
Either way, it’s a quick process. In fact, it may take you longer to get to and from the casino or OTB then the amount of time you spend there. Here are the addresses you will need for in-person registration and each sites’ sportsbook operator.
Online sportsbook | Launch date | Casino/OTB | Address | Distance from Chicago |
---|---|---|---|---|
BetRivers | Retail: March 9, 2020 Online: June 18, 2020 | Rivers Casino | 3000 S. River Road, Des Plaines | 17 miles |
DraftKings | Retail: August 5, 2020 Online: August 5, 2020 | DraftKings at Casino Queen | 200 S. Front St., East St. Louis | 309 miles |
FanDuel | Retail: August 19, 2020 Online: August 28, 2020 | Par-A-Dice Casino | 21 Blackjack Blvd., East Peoria | 157 miles |
PointsBet | Retail: October 1, 2020 Online: September 12, 2020 | Hawthorne Race Course | 3501 S. Laramie Ave., Cicero | 10 miles |
PointsBet | Retail: October 1, 2020 Online: September 12, 2020 | Club Hawthorne Bloomington Normal* | 1304 Cross Creek Dr., Bloomington | 137 miles |
PointsBet | Online: September 12, 2020 | Club Hawthorne Corliss* | 11203 S Corliss St., Chicago | - |
PointsBet | Retail: October 1, 2020 Online: September 12, 2020 | Club Hawthorne Crestwood | 13148 Rivercrest Dr., Crestwood | 26 miles |
PointsBet | Online: September 12, 2020 | Club Hawthorne Joliet* | 2450 Jefferson St., Joliet | 45 miles |
PointsBet | Online: September 12, 2020 | Club Hawthorne Lansing* | 17030 Torrence Ave., Lansing | 26 miles |
PointsBet | Online: September 12, 2020 | Club Hawthorne Mokena* | 19031 Old LaGrange Rd., Mokena | 33 miles |
PointsBet | Retail: October 1, 2020 Online: September 12, 2020 | Club Hawthorne Oakbrook Terrace | 17W648 22nd St., Oakbrook Terrace | 29 miles |
PointsBet | Online: September 12, 2020 | Club Hawthorne Ottawa* | 110 W Etna Rd., Ottawa | 81 miles |
PointsBet | Online: September 12, 2020 | Club Hawthorne Peoria* | 3225 N Dries Ln., Peoria | 171 miles |
PointsBet | Retail: October 1, 2020 Online: September 12, 2020 | Club Hawthorne Prospect Heights | 1250 S River Rd., Prospect Heights | 26 miles |
William Hill | Retail: August 3, 2020 Online: September 24, 2020 | Grand Victoria Casino | 250 S Grove Ave., Elgin | 40 miles |
*=sports betting service not yet offered but planned for the future
Now that you know where to go, you need to know what you need to take when you register. It’s a simple process, and even if in-person registration is in effect, you can do most of the process online.
For the most part, registering for an Illinois sportsbook is no more complicated than registering for an account on any number of online shopping apps/websites. It’s also standard across all the sportsbooks in IL.
You can start the process on your computer, smartphone or tablet. If you’re using a mobile device, make sure the app you’re downloading is for the sportsbook in Illinois. Some sportsbooks have apps specific to other jurisdictions.
The same goes for desktop website users. Regardless of what device you’re using, you’ll have to agree to let the website use location services to identify your position.
You’ll also have to share the following identifying information:
After you’ve gone through all the registration steps you can complete online, you’ll need to visit the retail sportsbook location. Present your government-issued photo ID to the attendant, and he or she will click the mouse a few times, and you’re good to go.
After you have completed your registration, you can make a deposit into your account and place bets right there. Alternatively, you can start to use your computer or mobile device as well.
Despite that legal sports betting in Illinois began in March 2020, there is already an interesting history of the registration component to this entertainment form, which is largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a timeline of events surrounding sports betting and the pandemic:
The short answer to this is the state included this mandate to keep DraftKings and FanDuel from having an advantage over competitors because of their large rolls of daily fantasy sports (DFS) customers. What other states require bettors to register for online wagering in person? Currently, only Iowa and Nevada have such mandates. Iowa’s mandate expires on New Year’s Day 2021, however. Rhode Island originally had a similar requirement but has since repealed it.
Opponents argue it creates an incentive for bettors to continue to use illegal, offshore sports betting websites. Additionally, there is no evidence that face-to-face registration improves outcomes on preventing match-fixing or increasing responsible gambling.
No, if you registered online while the in-person mandate was suspended, you will not have to register again when it goes back into effect. Your registration met all the state’s requirements at the time you registered.
No, but you must be at least 21 years old and supply the sportsbook with all requested identifying documents/information.