DraftKings and FanDuel get temporary permits to launch their sportsbooks in Illinois. The state gaming board gave the two sportsbook operators temporary permits as Management Services Providers.
According to bookie software reports, the Illinois Gaming Board gave out five permits for Management Services Providers to date. The first one was Rush Street Interactive, which operates the BetRivers Sportsbook of the Rivers Casino. It got the license in February.
Penn National Gaming got its permit in March and operated Argosy’s sportsbook. The Argosy and Rivers are the only two retail sportsbooks with a permit to operate in the state. Also, BetRivers is the only mobile sportsbook in operation. The Illinois Gaming Board’s next meeting will be on July 30.
DraftKings and FanDuel Get Temporary Permits
DraftKings paid for TV ads in the Chicago market for the past week. During the same time, Governor J.B. Pritzker got rid of the requirement for players to sign up in person for a sports betting account. The governor said that casino closures made it impossible to register for an account. Thus, he opened the registration process.
According to pay per head sources, DraftKings has a contract with Casino Queen. It is one of the casinos with a Master Sports Wagering license. That’s how to be a bookie in Illinois. You need to partner with a casino that has a sportsbook license. DraftKings announced that it would rebrand its sportsbook as DraftKings at Casino Queen.
When Illinois legalized sports betting, the law has a provision that required applicants for online-only sports betting license to wait 540 days from the issuance of the first retail license. The timer starter when the regulators granted seven retail permits last month.
PointsBet got its temporary operating license Tuesday. It has a partnership deal with Hawthorne Race Course. Hawthorne and Fairmount Park also applied for racino licenses but didn’t have approval for sports betting.
