If Illinois lawmakers are going to legalize sports betting this spring, it is going to be "part of a larger gambling expansion deal that also includes new casino licenses and expanded betting options at horse tracks," according to Dan Petrella of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker "did not want to squander the opportunity to bring in new state revenue through legalized sports betting" by "tying the issue to the parochial gambling debates that have failed to produce an agreement for the better part of a decade." Pritzker is "counting on" more than $200M in sports betting revenue in his spending plan. However, with a scheduled May 31 adjournment approaching, lawmakers are "faced with the reality that winning broad support for a sports betting bill likely will require resolving issues they've been kicking around" since then-Gov. Pat Quinn in '13 "vetoed the last gambling expansion bill." Meanwhile, Chicago, Waukegan, Rockford, the south suburbs, and communities in central and southern Illinois "want new casinos." But the state's 10 existing casinos "don't want to contend with more competition." Outgoing Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration is "willing to back sports betting -- if the city finally gets its casino." Track and horse owners said that "bringing in new revenue through expanded betting options -- including sports wagering -- is essential to the survival of their industry" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/3).
ADDING CLARITY: BLOODHORSE's Tom Precious reported two New York lawmakers have "amended their legislation authorizing sports betting in the state to exclude the Aqueduct casino, off-track betting corporations, and places like pro sports stadiums from participating in the expanded gambling program." The changes "essentially clarify that the operation of mobile sports betting, under the lawmakers' plans, would be limited to the entities that run full-blown casinos in New York State." Assemblyman Gary Pretlow said that the two houses "agreed to make the sports betting bill 'cleaner' by removing provisions that would allow mobile sports betting at places like Aqueduct's casino and the OTBs or any other betting entity the original bill classified as 'affiliates'" (BLOODHORSE.com, 5/2).
