Weekly Roundup 3/11/22

Chris Altman Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

Illinois In-Person Registration Requirement Ends

Illinois’ sports betting package had a built-in requirement that registering for an online sportsbook required an in-person visit to a local casino. That restriction was lifted for a short time at the height of social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic before being reinstated by Gov. JB Pritzker, and is again law.

For some bettors, a requirement for in-person registration could mean an hours-long drive, which is clearly inconvenient for a great deal of people who might spend their money on a bet. Now, bettors can again conduct the entire sign-up process from a mobile device or desktop.

As a part of that re-launch with no in-person registration requirement, many sportsbooks offered new deals for users signing up for the first time. Users can get online in Illinois with a number of trusted sportsbooks including FanDuel, Caesars, DraftKings, or BetMGM. 

Arkansas Mobile Sports Betting Goes Online

The Arkansas Racing Commission had been meeting in 2021 to discuss, formalize, and then enact a set of rules that would apply to online sports betting in the state. Retail sports betting through casinos had been legal since 2019, but the ARC’s drafting of a ruleset was a move that set its sights on online play. 

Arkansas legislators approved this ruleset in 2022, and it was a short trip from the approval to the actual launch of mobile sports betting in the Natural State. Started on March 4th, 2022 Arkansans and eligible visitors can now download one of several mobile apps for online wagering in the state, including Bet Saracen and Bet.ly.

Resorts World Bet Launches as Eighth Sportsbook in NY

New York was the market to watch in early 2022, as this state boasting one of the largest economies in the world is sure to pull in massive figures for overall betting handle. Now that sports betting is legal in the Empire State, billions of dollars have already changed hands through legal, online sportsbooks like BetMGM and DraftKings. 

Resorts World already boasts a number of casino and resort properties in New York State, and in an attempt to solidify their position as a top-performing and trusted gambling entity there, Resorts World Bet has been released as the eighth legal online sportsbook in NY. Nine licenses were approved in December 2021, and Bally Bet remains the only sportsbook that has received approval in NY but hasn’t yet gone live.

888 Acquires Ontario Sports Betting License

Ontario is set to expand their commercial betting program in April 2022, as they’re now opening the market to anyone who wants to apply for a legal online betting license. 888 is getting in on the action, and their license application has been approved by the AGCO (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario).

It’s expected that 888 will go live as soon as they’re able, which may mean that the sportsbook will be available to Ontario residents as early as the first week of April 2022. Additionally, brands like North Star are throwing their hat into the ring with license applications, while operators PointsBet and theScore Bet have already secured market access in the province. 

Canada expanded the availability of sports wagers by decriminalizing single-event wagers in August 2021. Since then, numerous lottery-run operators have entered the single-event wager market, but Ontario’s open market will allow a number of sports betting operators to enter the arena and provide legal bets to Ontarians.

Written by Chris Altman, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert.

The featured image for this post was sourced on Wikimedia Commons.

Chris Altman

Chris Altman is a sports betting writer and content expert with almost a decade of experience. He's covered everything, but his current focus is on reviewing sportsbooks and online casinos and keeping tabs on sports betting legislation. Chris has been with VegasInsider since 2019 and has freelanced in the sports betting content industry for years. More from Chris Altman