NEWSLETTER
The United States Supreme Court’s ruling that will allow states to regulate sports betting will surely push some states to act quickly. And while it would be great to get things up and running as soon as possible, this is something that should be taken seriously and not put together on a whim (to the extent you feel the need to comment on the political angle in all of this in the comments below, please just be civil).
Still, the general feeling is that Illinois is in a good spot to make something happen sooner, rather than later. And that’s a good thing, in our opinion. Moreover, hearing that State Representative Lou Lang did four days of research (on his own dime) in Las Vegas, while meeting with the Nevada Gaming Board and others, suggests that the state is actually doing their due diligence.
“We’re not going to screw it up. We’re going to do it right,” said Democratic State Representative Lou Lang, via the Daily Herald. “And I’m not going to put a (House) bill together and get it out there for people to look at until I’m comfortable that it’s the right bill.” Taking your time to piece together a bill with your constituents in mind is quite the novel concept (lol)! I’m curious to see how it plays out.
In any case, there’s quite a buzz surrounding the Supreme Court’s decision, because of how it could have a wide-ranging impact from sports leagues, to state governments, to the common gambler. While sports betting can be fun and games for some, we’re still talking about a serious business – one that the American Gaming Association reports featured $150 billion worth of illegal bets annually by Americans. With that in mind, the state of Illinois shouldn’t hastily throw together a bill that gets sports betting into state casinos just for the sake of doing so.
Many things (among them: tax rates and possible venues) have to be ironed out before things are fully put into place. For what it’s worth, State Senator Steve Stadelman, who serves as the chairman of the state’s gaming committee, told the Daily Herald that a realistic scenario of the fall or early 2019 being a time frame “when we see something concrete.”
Patience will be key here, but it’s better than be smart than fast in this particular field.
