Unexpected Turn Of Events For Legal Online Gambling
Added: June 19, 2017
Truth be told, you may not even have noticed or heard anything about a rather unexpected turn of events with respect to legal online casino action and legal online gambling sites. Get this: the industry shattering news comes from the state of Illinois.
Yes, it is certainly true that the state of Illinois has been making headline news as of late with the out of control state budget, political corruption, record homicides in the city of Chicago and such. Yet despite all of that, there is some good news coming out of the Illinois Senate.
It is reported that the Illinois Senate passed a Bill that would essentially go all the way. That is, if the Bill makes its way all the way through the legislative process, then both online gambling sites and online daily fantasy sports will become legal and regulated.
Interestingly, up until news of the passage of HB 479 was released, any sort of action on legalizing online casino in Illinois was viewed by most gambling industry pundits as a long shot. Thus the surprise when word came that the Illinois Senate easily passed the Bill.
For the record, the Senate vote tally for HB 479 came out as 42 in favor, 10 opposed. In other words, a clear sign that attitudes towards legal online casino have definitely shifted.
Another hard to ignore facet of HB 479 is the fact that it combines legal online casino action along with daily fantasy sports. Perhaps you will not be surprised to learn that the primary reason for this combination is politics at work.
You see, apparently neither daily fantasy sports nor legal online casino had enough support on their own to become law. On the other hand, by taking the extra step of putting these two gambling options together in the same Bill there is a much better chance of full passage.
Note that at present, daily fantasy sports has an unmistakably strong lobby presence as well as a proven ability to motivate its players to take action at the grass roots level. On the other hand, legal online casino action already has quite a bit of support from the existing brick and mortar casino industry in Illinois.
How will this play out? All indications point to full enactment and eventual endorsing by Governor Quinn. That is, if HB 479 can make it’s way through the sometimes contentious House of Representatives and the Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan.
Stay tuned, as HB479 is in fact a unique approach to legal online casino action.