While no one loves pop-up ads, proposed legislation in the Land of Lincoln could force sports betting sites to periodically use the promotional tools to inform players about problem-gambling resources.
Democratic Sen. Bill Cunningham introduced SB1508 on Tuesday, which if it passes the legislature and becomes law, would require online sports betting sites in Illinois to show a pop-up message about webpages offering help with gambling addiction after every 10 wagers made.
The Illinois Gaming Board, the state’s regulator of legal sports betting, would be responsible for ensuring the pop-up ads do indeed pop up.
Tweaking and tightening
While there is no guarantee Cunningham’s legislation is approved by the Senate, its introduction is another sign that lawmakers across the U.S. are interested in tightening the regulation of online sportsbooks and ensuring problem gambling is addressed. That interest follows a burst of media reporting on the industry that painted some of its practices in an unflattering light.
Legislation has been filed in states such as Arizona and New York that aims to tweak legal sports betting in those markets. Moreover, in Massachusetts, where sports betting has begun at casinos and will start via mobile bookmakers in March, the recent publicity has loomed over the regulatory process.
Illinois has gradually become one of the premier sports-betting markets in the U.S. as well, which makes it ripe for attempted tweaking.
After the state shed its in-person registration requirement for mobile sports betting last year, which had previously required players to sign up for accounts at a brick-and-mortar gaming facility, handle has taken off. Monthly wagering began topping $1 billion this past fall and could continue to rise.
Illinois sports fans meet your newest entertainment destination!
— PointsBet Communications (@PB_Comms) January 17, 2023
The PointsBet Retail Sportsbook, located at Club Hawthorne, is designed to offer sports fans & bettors in the Chicago area an immersive online & in-person betting experience.
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The Illinois market is indeed still maturing, and lawmakers have shown they will suggest changes if necessary. One example of this is another piece of legislation proposed recently in the state that would permit betting exchanges.
Another sign of maturity was PointsBet opening its fourth retail sportsbook in the state in January. The new sportsbook is located in Villa Park at Club Hawthorne, as PointsBet is partnered with Hawthorne Race Course and its network of off-track betting facilities in the state.
"The PointsBet Retail Sportsbook is part of PointsBet's continued efforts to expand our footprint in a key state like Illinois, and we're thrilled to be able to provide the Illinois sports community with another premier location that caters to both sports fans and bettors – and everyone in between,” PointsBet USA CEO Johnny Aitken said in a press release.
