Daily fantasy sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings are launching a $1M ad campaign "targeting Rivers Casino" in Des Plaines, Ill., and its owner, billionaire real estate and casino magnate Neil Bluhm, according to Dan Petrella of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The spot "went up on broadcast TV in Chicago on Thursday and will be rolled out on cable channels statewide as well as broadcast TV in the Springfield market." The campaign, which includes digital ads, is a "response to a proposal backed by Rivers that would prohibit the daily fantasy sites from entering the Illinois sports betting market for three years." The "so-called penalty box provision would apply to FanDuel and DraftKings because they continued to operate" after then- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued an opinion in '15 that said their contests "constituted illegal gambling under state law." This issue has "become a key point of contention in the debate over legalizing sports betting, a major priority" of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. In the TV spot, FanDuel and DraftKings "accuse Rivers and Bluhm, a major contributor to politicians in both parties, of trying to 'use their political muscle to box out the competition so they can profit.'" While FanDuel and DraftKings said that they have "operated legally, Rivers contends that it's appropriate for the daily fantasy sites to be temporarily sidelined because they did not comply with the Madigan opinion" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/24).