Chicago City Council Removes Sports Betting Ban
The viability of a casino is still an open question, but sports betting is coming to Chicago. The City Council lifted a ban on sports betting on Wednesday and authorized its proposed 2% tax on the activity, bringing the in-city tax rate on sports betting to 19%.
Outside of a potential casino and inter-track wagering facilities, Chicago sports betting is restricted to a five-block radius around the city’s sports arenas:
- Soldier Field
- Wrigley Field
- Guaranteed Rate Field
- United Center
- Wintrust Arena
The vote was far from unanimous, as powerful interests stood on both sides of the debate. The state’s gambling stakeholders were pitted against the owners of the arenas and professional sports teams.
Is a Chicago Casino Even Less Likely?
The Chicago sportsbooks are small potatoes in the grand scheme of the gambling world, as mobile sports betting accounts for the lion’s share of the revenue. Still, there is a knock-on effect to retail betting, and that could derail one of the most significant casino projects in the country, what Mayor Lori Lightfoot has called “a once in a generation opportunity.”
“While people are betting on sports at Wrigley Field or United Center — fantastic locations [that] will open two-and-a-half years before a casino so people will be used to going there — they won’t be at the casino betting on casino games. For every $1 of sports betting you’re losing, you lose about $3 or $4 of casino revenue. While they’re there, they walk around and play slot machines. They play roulette. They play blackjack. That’s big money,” .
Bluhm implies that the already burdensome casino (with a tax rate of around 40% and an upfront licensing fee based on gaming positions at the casino and airports) becomes more burdensome with city sportsbooks competing for customers.
Opportunity or Money Pit?
The city has received from three operators:
- Bally’s – the burgeoning national brand has proposed a $1.6 billion property at two separate locations
- Rush Street Gaming – the hometown favorite also submitted two proposals
- Hard Rock – submitted a single proposal even though it already has a casino presence in northern northern Indiana and is building one of the suburban casinos
Some of the most prominent players in the casino industry declined to bid, as tax rates and retail sportsbooks in the city aren’t the only competition a potential Chicago casino faces. As Roger Gros recently , “But as usual, Illinois just about killed the golden goose by approving five casinos in Chicago suburbs, meaning that the Chicago casino would only draw primarily from Chicago residents, not from the affluent suburban markets.”
The suburban casino locations are:
- Rockford – , and a smaller, temporary casino is under construction while the permanent property is constructed.
- Waukegan – The process to choose an operator has been delayed since February 2021.
- Danville – The Illinois Gaming Board is for a Danville casino.
- Williamson County – The Southern Illinois county and operate its casino on June 9, 2021. Pending IGB approval, Walker’s Bluff should begin work on its casino around 20 minutes west of Marion.
- South Suburbs – Like Waukegan, the South Suburbs of Chicago is also , and as such, no operator has been chosen.
Steve Ruddock is the content director for BettingUSA and the Editor-in-Chief of Gaming Law Review.
Steve has covered the legal and legislative developments in the US gambling sector for more than a decade for online and print publications.
