Looking to create an Illinois online sports betting account? From here on out you need to do so at a physical casino, or register an account online by midnight tomorrow, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker will not renew an executive order that waives on-premise registration in the state.
The executive order expires at midnight, April 3. Starting April 4, new users will have to register in-person at a brick-and-mortar casino.
Gov. Pritzker has lifted the in-person requirement several times before the executive order’s expiration date, citing social distancing measures as well as logistical and operational concerns causes by COVID-19, but chose not to do so before this deadline.
However, it may be an interesting time to lift the requirement as cases of COVID-19 in the state have increased by 59% in the last two weeks, according to the New York Times.
New users looking to create an account will have to do so in-person at one of five brick-and-mortar casinos in the state. In the case of DraftKings Sportsbook Illinois’ app, DraftKings at Casino Queen Sportsbook. DraftKings at Casino Queen Sportsbook, bettors would need to drive to East St. Louis to activate an account.
The lack of an in-person requirement spurred the rapid growth of the sports betting market in Illinois. In September 2020, over 230,000 new mobile sports betting accounts were created, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
DraftKings, William Hill, PointsBet, FanDuel and BetRivers all currently operate online sportsbooks in Illinois. Here’s how to sign up in Illinois before the mobile registration option expires.
