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Governor J.B. Pritzker officially signed Illinois Sports Betting into law Friday in Springfield, the culmination of a winding and messy months-long process.
It often looked like it couldn’t possibly come together – until it did. The final days of the legislative session were a wild ride for Illinois Sports Betting.
Rep. Bob Rita and Sen. Terry Link seemed to be like Penn and Teller using of hand to make you think Sports Betting was under one cup when it was actually under another. Not even the state’s casino industry knew what was going to be in the final bill until votes were called.
Legal Sports Report spoke with lawmakers and industry representatives to reveal how Illinois pulled off the trick of legalizing Sports Betting. It’s a story of misdirection, compromise, hurt feelings, unlikely alliances, and ultimately a bill few thought could get to the finish line.
Ten days before deadline: Illinois Sports Betting joins larger gaming expansion By May 21, Reps. Rita and Mike Zalewski meet with Sens. Link and Anthony Munoz and agree to combine legal Sports Betting with a larger casino expansion bill the Senate had been trying to push for more than a decade.
This move had been brewing for weeks, as 25 senators sent the governor a letter in April indicating they would not support a standalone Sports Betting bill without a comprehensive gaming expansion.
Rita becomes the House chief sponsor of S 516, the Senate vehicle for the gaming expansion.
“It became evident that if we wanted to pass Sports Betting, it would have to be part of a larger package,” Rita said. “There were fears the bill would be too large to pass and topple on its own weight, but Sports Betting was the component everyone had interest in so it was able to glue everything together.”
Existing casinos in the state weren’t thrilled with the merger of bills.
Governor J.B. Pritzker officially signed Illinois Sports Betting into law Friday in Springfield, the culmination of a winding and messy months-long process.
It often looked like it couldn’t possibly come together – until it did. The final days of the legislative session were a wild ride for Illinois Sports Betting.
Rep. Bob Rita and Sen. Terry Link seemed to be like Penn and Teller using of hand to make you think Sports Betting was under one cup when it was actually under another. Not even the state’s casino industry knew what was going to be in the final bill until votes were called.
Legal Sports Report spoke with lawmakers and industry representatives to reveal how Illinois pulled off the trick of legalizing Sports Betting. It’s a story of misdirection, compromise, hurt feelings, unlikely alliances, and ultimately a bill few thought could get to the finish line.
Ten days before deadline: Illinois Sports Betting joins larger gaming expansion By May 21, Reps. Rita and Mike Zalewski meet with Sens. Link and Anthony Munoz and agree to combine legal Sports Betting with a larger casino expansion bill the Senate had been trying to push for more than a decade.
This move had been brewing for weeks, as 25 senators sent the governor a letter in April indicating they would not support a standalone Sports Betting bill without a comprehensive gaming expansion.
Rita becomes the House chief sponsor of S 516, the Senate vehicle for the gaming expansion.
“It became evident that if we wanted to pass Sports Betting, it would have to be part of a larger package,” Rita said. “There were fears the bill would be too large to pass and topple on its own weight, but Sports Betting was the component everyone had interest in so it was able to glue everything together.”
Existing casinos in the state weren’t thrilled with the merger of bills.
