Bettors in Illinois will not miss the March Madness as legalized sports betting is just around the corner. The statement was confirmed by Governor’s press secretary.

March Madness is officially on in Illinois

Jordan Abudayyeh, the press secretary for Governor JB Pritzker said,

“The Governor is pleased that Illinois sportsbooks will open for business by March Madness, generating revenue to rebuild universities, hospitals and other facilities across the state.”

The statement was obtained by 13 WREX.

Note that the state passed a gambling expansion bill in June last year which has legalized sports betting in the state. Unfortunately, the state has taken an unusually long time in putting the infrastructure into place and approving operators for licenses which have delayed the beginning of sportsbooks. Two of its neighboring states, Indiana and Iowa, have already legalized sports betting because of which the state is losing out on precious revenue. It also missed a chance to bet on the recently concluded Super Bowl.

What’s happening in Illinois?

The state has granted three casinos temporary sports betting permits- Argosy Casino in Alton, Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin and Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. The City of Rockford may also get a new casino. However, nothing about the Hard Rock Casino is yet confirmed because it hasn’t received approval from the Illinois Gaming Board for the project to move the project ahead.

Since the state has already missed the Super Bowl, it is important for them to get their sports betting operations started when the second biggest sporting event- March Madness begins. Interestingly, even if betting begins, users will be unable to bet on any teams playing from Illinois. This is because the Illinois sports betting law bans betting on collegiate teams from the state.

This shouldn’t deter punters from betting on other favorites. Once the sports betting operations begin, punters will be able to bet from their mobile apps as well as casino-based sportsbooks. DraftKings and FanDuel, online casinos, will be able to enter the market 18 months after sports betting goes live in the state. Though the governor’s press secretary has not given an official date for the operations to begin, he said that they would be in place by March Madness.

Note that the men’s NCAA basketball tournament’s first game will be held on March 17. Going by his statements, the state has less than 30 days to fulfill its promise.