New Illinois Governor Discusses Expanded Gambling

Illinois’ newly-elected governor, J.B. Pritzker, who started his term last Monday, had already outlined the main aspects and objectives of his policy – and one of his priorities will be seeing to casino expansion which, in his views, could do wonders for state budget.

Expanded gambling has already done a world of good for Pennsylvania, whose boosted casino gaming brought in circa $400 million in its first full year. Pritzker is an avid advocate of expanded casinos as in them he sees a very convenient way of filling a state budget, paying for capital bills and helping underfunded social programs.

Riding the Sports Betting Wave of Enthusiasm

Also, with PASPA brought down last May and sports betting liberalization in full swing everywhere across the nation, Illinois should take the opportunity and the bill of its own, reckons Pritzker:

“We could implement that in the state as one example. There certainly are opportunities for us to expand casino gaming in the state. So those are a couple of ways for us to expand gaming. Balancing the budget is very important, it’s not just about those revenue enhancements. It’s also about bringing efficiencies to state government.”

The 43rd governor in Illinois’ history would like new casinos to be constructed near the state border as a way of stopping money to flow out of Illinois. There is also a strong initiative for Chicago to get its own casino, with city’s mayor, Rahm Emanuel, making a plea for one to be built there.

He reasons that geography matters and that placing casinos strategically can make all the difference in regards to cash flow from place to place where it didn’t flow before.

“I don’t disagree with you there’s been some cannibalisation within the state and there’s a limited amount of dollars that could exist in the state, but I also know this has to do with geography. We ought to be thinking about how do we keep the dollars here that are being expended in other states,” comments Emanuel.

A New Industry Looming

In late December, Illinois lawmakers began focusing on adding sports betting to the state’s gambling scene…

…With their proposals being worked on for months, Rep Lu Lang says that several drafts have been tested and that he will be introducing the one he’s feeling most confident about. IN order to regulate sports betting in the best way possible, various things must be taken into consideration – like utilizing the technology.

Still, it does hold a promise of creating a totally new industry in Illinois, Lang its and he holds that prospect in particularly high regard.

Organized regulation of both sports and online gambling really took off this fall with first hearings on these branches as well as fantasy gaming.

Pro-gambling representative, Bob Rita, commented on this occasion: “I want to use these hearings to understand how those changes present new opportunities for us to put the right package together as we look to meet budget needs and provide a spark for our economy.”

Source:

“New Illinois Governor discusses gambling expansion”, Niji Ng, europeangaming.eu, January 16, 2019.