All iGaming states have retail casinos. Chicago and Downstate New York are strengthening, foreshadowing legal internet gambling. New York is further from Illinois. Both states lacked iGaming legislation in 2022. Chicago approved Bally’s $1.7 billion casinos. 

It’s a big boost for Illinois gambling and may revive the Internet Gaming Act in 2023. 11 Illinois retail casinos create $1.71 billion in GGR yearly, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA). The casino will generate $800 million. Illinois’ internet sports betting helps legalize iGaming. Most licensed US online casinos regulate sports betting and iGaming. 

The main New York iGaming advocate thinks his colleagues will see how well online sports betting did on Jan. 8 and approve iGaming next year. Beach D-Howard Sen. Joseph Addabbo introduced SB 8412.

Massachusetts has a multibillion-dollar casino but no licensed internet casinos, unlike Nevada. Some states, like Maryland and New York, have casinos worth $1 billion to $2 billion. States eager to legalize internet casinos have well-established retail casinos. Then they consider legal online casino games. Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have 60 casinos. AGA stated they produced $16.5 billion in 2021 GGR.

New York casino industry growing by numbers

According to the AGA, the gross gaming revenue (GGR) earned by New York’s 31 casinos in 2021 was $3.6 billion. However, the price tag of the planned casino in Chicago is set to be surpassed by the Empire State, which stands at an astonishing $1.7 billion. Last month, Addabbo gave an interview to Online Poker Report in which he said that he wouldn’t be shocked if each of the three new Downstate retail casino licenses sold for a total of $1 billion. Addabbo is probably correct if the competitiveness that Mike Mazzeo reported on yesterday for PlayNY is any clue. On the other hand, Chicago has already chosen Bally’s, while the new neighbors for New York City won’t be chosen until October 6th.

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Bally reigns supreme in Chicago

Bally’s is putting its aspirations for offering internet gambling front and center. Bally’s referred to itself as “a worldwide gaming, hotel, and entertainment firm with a portfolio of casinos and resorts as well as online gaming enterprises” in the very first phrase of the announcement that it made about its new casino in Chicago on May 5. That was an intriguing spot to put the spotlight on the company’s interactive business.

Bally Bet Sportsbook is not yet active in the state of Illinois, and its launch there has not yet been announced. Bally Bet may currently be played in-play in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, and Virginia. It is anticipated that it will soon arrive in the states of New York and Ontario. However, in an announcement made on April 26 concerning a collaboration involving online sports betting in Ohio, a branch of Bally’s called Bally’s Interactive did note the fact that the sportsbook had market access in 18 states. That covers the majority of states where sports betting is allowed. Therefore, it is likely that Bally’s will immediately proceed with the legalization of online sports betting in Illinois.

If Illinois adopts the strategy it employed for online sports betting when it legalizes iGaming, bettors will have to sign up at retail casinos for the first 18 months. On March 5, internet sportsbooks opened to Lincoln residents. People had to register at retail casinos before. Not anymore. Bally’s Chicago won’t be built until late 2025, too late to get a competitive advantage during in-person registration. However, a temporary facility will be operational well before then. As the program progresses, brand awareness will improve. On the same day it announced its Chicago casino, Bally’s rejected a $2 billion take-private deal.