- The Sports Betting Alliance has donated over $1 million to the state of Illinois since 2024 to persuade government officials to legalize online gaming.
- Online blackjack in Illinois is currently only available on offshore sites.
CHICAGO – Illinois may be inching closer to legalizing online blackjack in the state after receiving nearly $400k in donations from a sports betting group called the Sports Betting Alliance since June.
The group represents DraftKings, FanDuel, and other mobile sportsbooks, each of which has a good reason for wanting to operate in Chicago, one of the largest casino and sports betting markets in the country.
They also donated over $700k in 2024, bringing the total to over $1 million over the past two years.
Online Blackjack Could Be Widely Available In Illinois
While there are currently options for residents to play legal online blackjack in Illinois, the legalization of iGaming would allow the state to collect taxes from online blackjack players.
Sites like Bovada, Slots.lv, and Ignition Casino are already available for players over the age of 18 in Illinois, but locally regulated online gaming sites will more options for players to enjoy online blackjack.
If this move were to come to fruition, experts predict that it could result in billions of dollars in revenue for the state.
In-Person Casinos May Be A Roadblock
Though both online gaming and in-person gaming can certainly coexist, some in the state worry that the introduction of online gaming may take away from the in-person gaming industry, which is currently one of the biggest in the country.
Executive director of the Illinois Licensed Beverage Association Keith Wetherell argues that slot machines have been and continue to generate vast amounts of money for small businesses in Illinois.
He and others worry that online gaming will take away passive income for small businesses that have helped them operate for years due to the ease of access for online gaming.
It will be interesting to see how the state proceeds and if the legalization of online gaming will truly have negative effects on other markets.