Senate passes gambling bills as industry expands
With its deadline to advance bills to the House approaching Friday, the Illinois Senate moved on 89 bills Wednesday amid a busy lobbying day at the Capitol.
Recent: Crowd marches in Springfield for annual gun owner lobby day
Several of those bills pertained to sports betting, a growing industry nationwide and in Illinois. According to the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB), January saw a record-high in bets wagered with $1.07 billion in legal sports betting in the state - an increase of more than $20 million from January 2022.
The three bills passed on Wednesday - Senate Bills 323, 1462 and 1508 - would have varying impacts on both betters and licensees permitted to sell and operate sports betting equipment.
Senate Bill 323
Legislation from state Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, passed with only one dissenting vote, 55-1, and would change several stipulations of supplier licenses.
Under the Sports Wagering Act (SWA), signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2019, applicants owed a nonrefundable license and application fee of $150,000 dedicated to the IGB. Currently, these initial licenses last for four years before the license holder would have to pay another $150,000 annually to maintain them.
More Senate Action: Illinois Senate Democrats push bill calling for $35 monthly cap for insulin
Senate Bill 323 changes this renewal amount to $50,000 and time period of four years. Castro said on the Senate floor that the bill addressed a drafting error in the SWA.
The bill has now arrived in the House and would go into effect immediately if signed into law by the governor.
Senate Bill 1462
Senate Bill 1462 from state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, would also deal with licenses and passed in a 44-12 vote mostly along party lines. Senate Minority Leader John Curran was among the six Republicans backing the legislation.
The bill updates eligibility standards for those seeking an occupational license, specifically with regard to their criminal record. IGB would be required to consider length of time since conviction, number of convictions and the severity of the charges among other factors when reviewing an individual's application through the legislation.
Peters said his bill would open doors to "good jobs," while state Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia, rose in opposition. Anderson recalled in committee conversation that the state gaming board requested casinos would not be held liable if these individuals broke any laws.
The amended version of the SB 1462 did not include this provision, causing the Rock Island County senator to vote 'no'. Local Republican Sens. Steve McClure of Springfield and Sally Turner of Beason also voted in opposition.
Senate Bill 1508
A bill regarding problem gambling from state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, received unanimous support on Wednesday.
Through Senate Bill 1508, licensed online sports wagering operators would be ordered to display a pop-up advisory at least once an hour to betters. These messages would detail how to receive assistance for gambling addiction along with total time and wagered amounts since the individual logged-in.
Cunningham acknowledged the funds going to the state through sports betting on the Senate floor, adding with it that the legislature had a "responsibility" to protect those with gambling addiction problems. According to a study released last year from the Illinois Department of Human Services, approximately 380,000 adult Illinoisans are considered to have a gambling problem while an additional 761,000 are believed to be at-risk of developing one.
Wednesday saw the Senate more than double its total number of bills passed so far in the 103rd Illinois General Assembly, following Tuesday's action where it only advanced five bills. Most votes in the three-hour-plus floor debate were unanimous.
The Senate was scheduled to return to the floor on Thursday at 12:30 p.m., where its agenda included more than 40 pages of bills in third reading.
Contact Patrick Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/pkeckreporter.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: All in: Senate passes gambling bills with deadline approaching
