The days of using credit cards to wager on sports in Illinois may be coming to an end.
Key takeaways
- Illinois regulators got the ball rolling on a potential credit card ban for sports betting.
- Bettors already can't use credit cards for gambling at casinos in the state.
- Several other states prohibit credit card use for sports wagering as well.
Members of the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) voted unanimously Thursday to kick the tires on proposed changes to the state’s rules for funding sports betting accounts.
IGB Administrator Marcus Fruchter said the tweaks would prohibit Illinois retail and online sportsbooks from accepting credit cards for wagering.
Fruchter also noted it's been five years since the state launched legal sports betting, and said IGB staff is reviewing existing rules and practices to see if there's room for improvement. Banning credit cards is one of those proposed changes.
An anniversary gift (paid for with cash)
Illinois’ sports wagering rules currently permit credit card use. However, Fruchter said those rules were approved when the then-13 other states with legalized sports betting all allowed credit cards. Since then, at least six states prohibited the practice or changed course.
“We view that limiting credit card funding for wagering accounts is a sensible and worthwhile policy to encourage responsible gambling and mitigate the potential harms of compulsive gambling,” Fruchter said. “Problem gamblers are at particular risk, and studies have shown a willingness for compulsive gamblers to use credit cards to place bets.”
The proposed tweak in the Land of Lincoln comes as state lawmakers and regulators continue to propose and pass changes to legalized sports betting in their respective jurisdictions.
Some of those proposals are attempts to better protect players. One example is a recently proposed New York bill that institutes a $5,000 daily wagering cap in the U.S.' biggest competitive market for online sports betting.
Keeping consistent
The Prairie State is one of the more important online sportsbook markets, given its size. A credit card ban could crimp business and would come after the state hit operators with a significant tax hike last year.
Even so, Fruchter said existing IGB rules already ban credit cards for use at casinos or with video gaming machines. Extending the ban to Illinois sports betting "would apply a consistent approach," he added.
“If this rule is adopted and credit cards are prohibited, sports betting patrons will remain able to use ACH debit cards to load sports wagering accounts with money they have in their bank accounts, and with money that patrons actually have at their disposal,” Fruchter said.
The four-member board then voted unanimously to submit the proposed rule change to the Illinois Secretary of State’s Index Department on first notice. The department publishes updates of the Illinois Register, which includes proposed rules. Once a proposed rule is published in the Illinois Register, it starts a public comment period of at least 45 days.
