Illinois suspends in-person registration for online sport betting

Gamblers in Illinois will be allowed to open online sports betting accounts without having to visit a local casino under an executive order signed by Governor JB Pritzker late last week.

The executive order is in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting closure of land-based casinos in Illinois, which prevents players from registering online accounts in person, as required by the state’s sports betting legislation.

The order signed Thursday notes that Illinois casinos have been closed since March 16 to limit the spread of the coronavirus, making in-person registration for online sports betting accounts unviable, with the executive order suspending this requirement for the duration of the Governor’s disaster proclamations.

All Illinois health regions are currently in Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan, allowing manufacturing, retail and office work to resume and authorising gathering of up to 10 people under hygiene and social distancing rules.

The state’s racetracks have also been allowed to resume racing in Phase 3, although without any spectators in attendance, with Hawthorne racecourse reopening on Saturday June 6 and Fairmount Park on June 9, while Arlington is yet to announce a reopening date.

Phase 4 of the plan will see gatherings of up to 50 people authorised alongside the reopening of bars and restaurants, while the state’s casinos are expected to reopen in Phase 5.