- DraftKings has reached an agreement with Casino Queen gaining access to the sports betting market in Illinois
- The gaming company has avoided the 540-day waiting time it would have to take before applying for an online gaming license according to state law.
- Players now do not have to register in-person for the mobile app per an executive order put in place.
ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A deal between DraftKings and an Illinois casino has created a way around the state law keeping it from offering sports betting until 2022.
The East St. Louis casino, Casino Queen and DraftKings have partnered to give mobile betting to residents and allow for DraftKings to be a part of the Illinois sports betting market.
Illinois law was created terms to combat companies like DraftKings from doing this very thing by creating the “penalty box” provision.
This provision would make stand-alone online sportsbooks wait 18-months or 540 days to apply for a license after the first license was received by a brick-and-motor sportsbook.
This was created to give the state land-based casinos a head start to the sports betting market in the sixth biggest state with every major U.S. sport.
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DraftKings finally found a workaround for this obstacle that they have been trying to overcome.
The 18-month countdown did not start until June 11 and even when it is up, the Illinois Gaming Board has another 90 days to select which operators will be granted the licenses.
This means companies like DraftKings could not have operated until early 2022.
Now because of the executive order by the Illinois governor, J.B. Pritzker, players can enjoy DraftKings’ online betting without the in-person registration that normally comes with land-based casinos' mobile betting.
Adia joined the USAOnlineSportsbooks team in 2020 after graduating from the University of Georgia. She is a sports enthusiast and a multi-media sports journalist. Adia has experience reporting on many various sports and enjoys creating sports content.
