Great news for Illinois sports fans!
Rivers Casino Des Plains is offering the state’s first legal online sportsbook: BetRivers.
Back in March, before covid-19 posed a threat to US players and gamblers alike, Rivers was granted regulatory permission to open its retail sportsbook. The physical locations of the casino had to close down almost immediately, but BetRivers, the sports betting app, promises to make up for it.
The IL sports betting law requires in-person registration for the first 18 months of operation; however, thanks to an executive order from Gov. J.B. Pritzker waiving that restriction, BetRivers was able to secure an operation permit, just before the Coronavirus outbreak.
An Exciting Panorama For Online Gambling In Illinois
Rush Street is becoming a household name in the US sports betting market, being the third-largest sports betting operator after FanDuel and DraftKings.
The company has stakes in the markets of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, as well as New Jersey and New York (under SugerHouse), and has recently expanded into Indiana and Colorado.
Richard Schwartz, the president of the company, expressed that “while entertainment options are limited as we seek to minimize the spread of the virus, we are focused on BetRivers.com providing sportsbook players with a high-quality on-line product with exciting sports betting options”.
Brick and mortar casino locations across the state still remain closed indefinitely, in an effort to minimize the spread of the virus, but with Illinois becoming the 11th state with regulated online sports betting, and Chicago becoming the largest city in the United States that is able to bet on sports, the company looks like it will not only recover but may even enjoy a sports betting windfall.
At the time, there isn’t a clear deadline of when Illinois casinos will be open to the public again.
