Is illinois preparing for the removal of the federal ban on sportsbetting?

It appears that Illinois is about to join around 10 other US states in preparing legislation to allow sports betting in the event that the US Supreme Court rules in favour of New Jersey and against the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (see previous  reports).

State lobbyist Steve Brubaker tweeted Thursday that a new bill, HB4214, has been filed by House deputy majority leader Rep. Lou Lang under the title Legalization and Regulation of Sports Betting Act.

Not much is known about the bill because it at present has little content and could be regarded as a placeholder pending the US Supreme Court decision, expected later this year.

A growing number of states have introduced bills with similar objectives in order to be ready to move should the restrictions of PASPA be lifted and the estimated $150 billion sports betting market opened up through wider state regulation and licensing.

Our readers may recall that hopes were high at the end of 2017 for an online casino and daily fantasy sports bill which was approved by the Illinois Senate but ran out of time in the House.

In related news, media reports from Indiana at the end of December quote state Rep. Alan Morrison as saying that he intends to introduce a House bill that would make betting on sports legal in Indiana if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favour of New Jersey.

The Indianapolis Star report claims that more than 10 states have passed or are considering anticipatory bills to make sports betting legal if the Supreme Court opens the gates.

Morrison told the newspaper that he expected opposition to such a measure from the NCAA, commenting:

“I understand where they’ll be coming from. But it’s also important for the NCAA to understand that the landscape of gaming is changing throughout our country. I think they would hopefully have some understanding that Indiana would have rights just like the other states.”

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