Legal Sports Betting

Political will is building for Illinois sports betting with Republicans and Democrats in both chambers and the governor working toward passing a comprehensive gambling expansion bill including sports betting by Friday’s deadline, even if language for the legislation doesn’t yet exist. Background on Illinois Gambling Legislation Illinois has a long history with gambling legislation. Legalized […]

The following is an excerpt from the new book The Logic of Sports Betting by Ed Miller and Matthew Davidow. You can read another excerpt here. Before I get into the weeds there’s one more core market concept you have to understand. I started the book making a big deal about how sports betting isn’t a one- […]

If Illinois passes a comprehensive gambling expansion bill this week, it likely will be against opposition from its existing casino industry. Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, tells Legal Sports Report that his organization, which represents nine of the 10 casinos in the state, almost certainly would not support the full […]

Dearest Illinois, It’s not you, it’s me. Well … that’s not entirely true. It’s totally you. By the time you read this letter I’ll be gone, set off into my wistful thoughts of how the Illinois sports betting process went from delight to disaster in the final days of the legislative session. Year after year, […]

If you had Louisiana to legalize sports betting this year, hold your tickets. The House Appropriations committee loaded up S 153 with poison pills during a Tuesday hearing, likely scuttling the legal sports betting push from Sen. Danny Martiny. The sponsor asked the group to advance the tattered remnants of his bill as amended, but it […]

Live testing of online PA sports betting began today with SugarHouse Sportsbook standing first in line. The platform went live for web-based and Android devices on Tuesday, with the iOS app still pending approval in Pennsylvania. In-person PA sports betting kicked off late last year, and eight retail sportsbooks now take wagers. Lessons from neighboring New Jersey, however, underscore […]

Happy holiday, ladies and gents! US lawmakers are observing Memorial Day today (although they were at work in Illinois), providing a quiet stage for our weekly recap of sports betting news. This year’s holiday happens to coincide with Grape Popsicle Day and Cellophane Tape Day, if you’re looking for additional ways to celebrate. Anyhow, here are the stats […]

Illinois is going to consider a sports betting bill unlike any other in the country. Legal Sports Report obtained a copy of the amendment Rep. Mike Zalewski is proposing in the House, and it’s a doozy. Zalewski’s attempt to legalize IL sports betting began with five impractical amendments, none of which garnered support. The expectation was that the […]

One prominent casino company held back little on Thursday in calling out official league data mandates. Eric Schippers, of Penn National Gaming, called sports leagues’ request for state legislatures to mandate the use of official league data by sports betting operators a “money grab” that is “in lieu of not being able to get the […]

DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook are not taking a proposed bad-actor clause in Illinois sports betting legislation lying down. The sports betting and daily fantasy sports giants will launch a $1 million ad campaign targeted at Rivers Des Plaines Casino and owner Neil Bluhm of Rush Street Gaming. Churchill Downs Incorporated and Rush Street jointly own […]