Betway cashes out of online sports betting in Illinois, again

Whether you’re an individual or an operator, $20 million is a lot of money for any bet.

Betway thought the exact same thing last week as Marcus Fruchter, Administrator of the Illinois Gaming Board, announced that the online sports wagering platform withdrew its application for an online-only license at the state’s legal sports betting regulator’s meeting.

This is not the first time that Betway, which is the global brand of Digital Gaming Corporation (DGC IL LLC), pulled out of contention for the online-only licensing process.

According to the Land of Lincoln’s bill, also known as SB 690, that legalized gambling in The Prairie State signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on 28 June 2019, sports wagering must be tethered to a retail gaming establishment with the exception of three online-only licenses, which are obtainable through a competitive bidding procedure.

Betway submitted an application during the initial bidding process in 2021, but removed itself while its bid went through the evaluation stage.

While it is not known why the online sports wagering operator made this decision again despite making it to the finalist stage, some are speculating that the $20 million price tag associated with the online-only license might have played a part in it. All sports betting licenses – online-only and retail – in Illinois are valid for four years and are renewable for $1 million.

Betway Sportsbook is currently available in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, while Betway Casino is live New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Betway Sportsbook in Massachusetts is scheduled to launch in 2024.

As a result of Betway’s withdrawal, no licenses were issued for the second time as part of the process for an online-only master sports wagering license under Section 25-45 of the Sports Wagering Act.

Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, BetRivers Online, Caesars Sportsbook, Circa Sports, DraftKings, FanDuel, and PointsBet USA all offer online sports wagering to bettors 21 years and older in The Prairie State as they are all tethered to retail gaming establishments. Unibet Sports & Racebook, which will be tethered to Argosy Casino Alton, is currently under consideration to join the other operators.

According to state’s August Sports Wagering Monthly Report, which is the most recent released data, 96% of the Prairie State’s $656 million handle came from online sports wagering. DraftKings, which is tethered to Casino Queen, Inc., and FanDuel, which is tethered to Fairmount Park, Inc., led the way as the top two platforms. BetRivers, which was the state’s first mobile betting application in 2020 and is tethered to Midwest Gaming & Entertainment, LLC, rounded out the top three.