Two of the biggest names in online sports betting received temporary operating permits from the Illinois Gaming Board on Friday, July 17. DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook are both listed as recent licensees on the board’s website.
Last month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued an executive order suspending the requirement that sports bettors in the state must register for online sportsbook accounts at land casinos, which paved the way for national brands to open up shop.
Illinois legalized sports betting upon the signing of SB 690 in June 2019. The state began licensing sportsbooks for in-state operators on December 2019. BetRivers was the first to launch, and began taking bets on March 9, 2020, through its partnership with Rivers Casino. The Argosy Casino in Alton is the only other casino in the state to currently offer IL sports betting.
It couldn’t be immediately confirmed which if any Illinois casino has partnered with FanDuel or DraftKings. A representative for FanDuel reached by email said the company had no comment at this time.
DraftKings chief compliance officer Tim Dent said in an email:
“We can confirm that we received our Temporary Operating Permit in Illinois, which brings us one step closer to going live in the state. We look forward to continuing to work with the Illinois Gaming Board towards being able to offer Illinois’ sports fans our top-rated sportsbook platform to wager on their favorite sports, teams and players.”
The Illinois Gaming Board could not be immediately reached for comment but we will update this post if and when we hear back.
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