Progress on Illinois online horserace betting

Five months ago a restrictive, time limited law permitting online horse race betting in Illinois was allowed to expire, effectively halting any further development until now.  This week an initiative to breathe new life into the legislation commenced with its introduction to a state House committee Thursday.

The bill quickly passed and is now on its way to the House floor for debate and a possible vote.

The Springfield Daily Herald reports that online betting on the ponies is a big money-maker for tracks like Arlington International Racecourse, where owner Churchill Downs also owns the TwinSpires online betting site, an online venue that previously did well taking internet bets in Illinois.

The newspaper reports that TwinSpires and another company, Xpressbet, were taking wagers even after the expiration date until state regulatory officials insisted they stop.

Despite these infringments, the resurrected legislation proposes that the two companies be allowed to keep their licenses provided they pay taxes on the money they made after the law expired.

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