FanDuel Sportsbook is now live for them to have some action in the state of Illinois. This marks them as the third mobile IL sports betting app within the state.
Pretty much right off the heels of the DraftKings deal for Illinois, FanDuel did not waste any of their time getting up and running. The recent launch came about on the same day that the Illinois Gaming Board brought forth an approval letter to FanDuel’s partner Par-A-Dice Casino.
Recent updates on the news can be found here: https://www.igb.illinois.gov
The Move
The FanDuel Sportsbook app is taking launch as quickly as they did sense. Governor JB Pritzker recently renewed the executive order that would allow for remote account registration until September 19.
Pritzker took a lot of heat for not renewing the initial order in July. It was almost as if he forgot, or just did not get on the ball to get it done, so it ultimately forced sports bettors to travel to their nearest casino to sign up during this coronavirus pandemic. The state of Illinois has less than ten casinos, so this made it much more difficult for players wanting to join.
In fairness from the casino side of things, press secretary Jordan Abudayyeh came out with the following statement:
“Increased mitigation measures are impacting the capacity limits and hours of operation at casinos in regions seeing higher rates of the virus and online sports betting will allow for an even playing field across the industry.”
This adds icing to the cake to bring this deal back to the table. Now customers can have time to sign up again without having to rush or go to a casino.
FanDuel Sportsbook Making Use Of Their Time
FanDuel Sportsbook elected not to waste any time getting set up in Illinois right out the gate. Sports have some events coming soon.
For example, the NFL season is just around the corner. The league will be kicking off September 10. However, that does not seem like a lot of time for customers to sign up for NFL betting, but it is better than nothing.
As mentioned above, the account registration is up until September 19. Par-A-Dice is located in the middle of the state, so it is about three hours from Chicago and roughly 2.5 hours from St. Louis.
This is a huge opportunity for FanDuel to try and get on the ball early. Competitors BetRivers and DraftKings Sportsbooks are located in arguably better locations such as major metro markets.
Illinois Market
The Illinois sports betting market is heating up for sure.
Remote registration for Illinois sports betting is not something they planned on doing this year because it had been talked about for the next football season or even potentially later. Illinois residents will be able to get a taste of the action.
The market as a whole for the state is expected to be huge. PlayIllinois has estimated the total handle, once it is at maturity, that it could be around $11 billion annually with $650 million in gross operator revenue.
We are also still waiting on some other names in the game. PointsBet, which came to light in the national eyes as they are partnering with NBC, will have a tremendous market presence near Chicago whenever they launch in the state.
Conclusion
As this marks the second time around for the renewal process, it still has a ticking clock on it. However, it allows for the market of Illinois to get back in on the action without having to travel to a local casino, which could be hours away.
FanDuel is happy to be in the mix on short notice. They should be a very competitive name in the game here, even though Par-A-Dice is not located in the best market area.