Facing a $3.2 billion price range shortfall for fiscal yr 2026, Illinois legislators need to legalize online poker and different casino video games to assist shore that up. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has lent his support to including online gaming in the state, which might deliver in an extra $1 billion per yr.
Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr. filed HB3080 in February, however the bill simply started making its manner by the state home. On Friday, the bill was re-referred to the House Rules Committee from the Gaming Committee.
The bill would legalize online casinos, set the trade tax fee at 25% and embrace language permitting the state to enter into the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement for shared online poker participant and prize swimming pools.
Mixed Reactions By Lawmakers
Pritzker has expressed support for legalization in serving to the state with Illinois’s price range woes. He has known as the problem “worthy of consideration.” Some legislators have already expressed support for including online gaming.
Sen. Cristina Castro, who launched online casino payments in prior legislative periods, believes this will repair price range shortfalls in a manner that residents will approve of.
“In a tough budget year, you’re looking at ways to increase revenue,” Castro instructed the Chicago Sun-Times. “This is one tool for that. And it’s something that could be more palatable to constituents.”
However, there was pushback in opposition to the bill in a home committee assembly final week. Like most arguments in opposition to playing growth, they imagine residents will endure.
“Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week when people are most vulnerable, when they’re alone, in isolation [or] within the close reach of minors,” Illinois Gaming Machine Operators Association govt director Ivan Fernandez stated. “Without any regard for local authority or any reasonable time or spending limits, merely to generate a new tax.”
Supporters of the bill famous that many in the state are already playing utilizing unregulated websites and giving them a authorized choice.
“It’s very hard once you shut one of (the unregulated sites) down to prevent another one of them from starting back up the same day with the same spokesperson and the same contact information,” FanDuel lobbyist James Hartmann stated. “The only way to shut it down is to have a regulated legal marketplace.”
Potential Poker Growth
With a inhabitants of 12.7 million, the state might supply a major enhance to the MSIGA. Pennsylvania (13 million) can also be anticipated to hitch the MSIGA quickly and Connecticut (3.7 million) is contemplating laws to hitch. They might be a part of New Jersey (9.5 million), Michigan (10.1 million), and Nevada (3.3 million). West Virginia (1.8 million) and Delaware (1.1 million) are additionally members, however at the moment don’t have any poker operators in the states.
If Illinois and Connecticut find yourself becoming a member of the interstate online poker compact, all MSIGA member states would complete greater than 42 million, offering a a lot bigger participant pool.
Currently, WSOP.com, PokerStars, and BetMGM all function shared participant swimming pools. Rush Street Interactive additionally launched a poker product in Pennsylvania in 2024 and plans to increase.
