Two new sportsbooks open in Illinois this week. Hollywood Casino opened sportsbooks in their Aurora and Joliet locations last Thursday. Also, Penn National Gaming provides the betting software platform to both sportsbooks.
The two new sportsbooks will offer land-based sports betting only, which is common among sportsbooks in the state. Operators have a difficult time to get a license for mobile sportsbooks. Thus, there are more retail sports betting facilities in the state than online ones.
The two Hollywood Casinos offer several betting options that include straight up, parlays, futures, props, live in-game wagering, and other types of bets. Players place their bets at kiosks inside the casino.
New Sportsbooks Open in Illinois
The kiosks have self-checkout. They print out the betting slip after successfully placing a bet. According to a pay per head bookie operation, the sportsbooks accept wagers on all major sports from across the globe. They include football, MMA, basketball, soccer, baseball, and more.
Based on pay per head reports, sportsbooks in Illinois can accept wagers on professional and college games. However, they can’t take bets for college events held within the state or played by a college team based in the state.
Since Penn National is the operator, it can offer its mychoice rewards program to players. Once the sportsbooks qualify to offer online sports betting, they can be part of the future Penn National and Barstool Sports betting app.
At present, only two casinos can offer online sports betting. Rivers Casino launched an online app for betting in partnership with BetRivers. Then Casino Queen made a deal with DraftKings to start operating an online platform and retail sportsbooks.
The good news is that Governor JB Pritzker reinstated the suspension of the in-person requirement to apply for an online account. Also, several firms are waiting to launch their sports betting apps in the state.
