Furthermore, as the industry for Illinois online sportsbooks, which launched in March 2020, has matured, advertising by these sites has slowed down somewhat. It’s no secret that operators make the bulk of their money from online gambling sites. It’s likely that if Illinois legalizes internet casinos, we’ll start seeing plenty of commercials for them on local television and radio stations.
On a national scale, Mediaradar stated in December that “through October, more than 440 gambling advertisers committed more than $738 million across digital, print, and TV commercials, marking a 22% [year-over-year] rise…” Sixty-nine percent of the budget was allocated to media such as national broadcast and cable television and print advertisements.
In 2022, the advertising budgets of three Illinois-based online sportsbooks—DraftKings, BetMGM, and Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of FanDuel—totaled $460 million, or 62% of the total US gambling advertising budget. If internet casinos are made legal in Illinois, they stand to gain greatly from increased advertising opportunities.
Increases in gambling marketing are not always negative. The abundance of commercials may be bothersome, but they are necessary to fund public radio and television stations in Illinois.
What we cover
Illinois advertising norms relative to other states
Just a few states and provinces in North America (including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, West Virginia, and Ontario in Canada) allow for internet gambling, including casinos and sportsbooks. Although there are brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in the state of Delaware, there are no online options for gamblers. Although Nevada does provide access to internet sportsbooks, the state does not yet permit online casinos to operate inside its borders.
As other states started introducing internet casinos and sportsbooks in January 2021, Illinois’s nearest neighbor, Michigan, did so at the same time. After two years, casinos have become the primary focus of gambling advertisements in Michigan, rather than sportsbooks. Ads for casinos tend to air during daytime programming, local news, and other non-sports events. The emphasis of sports broadcasts has shifted to betting on those games. As the market in Michigan has matured, the number of commercials has reduced.
There are little limits on advertising material in jurisdictions that allow online gambling in the United States. Operators are free to push sign-up perks, bonuses, and credits as much as they see fit. What happens in Ontario is a different story.
The biggest Canadian province has had legal internet gambling for the last nine months. Ads for iGaming have been everywhere. Nevertheless, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the province’s gaming regulator, prohibits operators from promoting sign-up incentives, awards, or other inducements. Operators are allowed to provide such incentives, but they are prohibited from publicizing them. In order to learn who the operators are, you must visit their websites.
The goal is to lessen the appeal of these promotions to those who may have a gambling issue or who may join up because of the promise of free money and then develop a gambling problem. Advertising for legal Illinois internet casinos would target those above the age of 21.
Rules for advertising online sportsbooks in Illinois primarily aim to prevent marketing to anyone under the age of 21. To bet legally in the state of Illinois, you must be at least 21 years old.
Not advertising or promoting sports wagering to anyone under the age of 21 is a requirement of the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules’s advertising and marketing part of the administrative code. The restrictions that took effect in March of 2021 include the following for commercials:
- Must not target anyone under 21 by using pictures, symbols, celebrity or performer endorsements, or language.
- Should not include anybody who is obviously or even presumably under 21.
- Should not be released to the public in any form (print, broadcast, online) when its primary audience is under the age of 21.
- Cannot be shown or used where a significant portion of the audience is likely to be under 21.
Prohibited is “language significantly compatible with the compulsive gambling text specified by regulation by the Department of Human Services.” And advertisements can’t indicate that a gambler has a better chance of winning if they go with a certain bookmaker or increase their wager size.
Such regulations have just gone into effect for online sportsbooks operating in Illinois. Hence, it stands to reason that the same rules would govern the promotion of online casinos. Celebrities like BetMGM spokesperson Jamie Foxx will be making appearances in Illinois. Yet he cannot target anyone under the age of 21 with gaming advertisements.
BetMGM Sportsbook Illinois Deposit Options
MGM is a household name, and as such, has long-standing partnerships with several e-commerce and brick-and-mortar payment processors. This allows the operator to accept a wide variety of payment methods from traditional banks to more modern alternatives like e-wallets, mobile payment systems, and even cash deposits from customers.
Any money you want to put into your BetMGM Illinois sportsbook account must be a minimum of $10, regardless of the method you choose to fund it. BetMGM doesn’t make clear that the maximum deposit varies by payment method. There is no way to fund your sportsbook account with Bitcoin, Dogecoin, or any of the other prominent cryptocurrencies at the time of writing. The US dollar is your sole option for payment.
A wrap around BetMGM
The most common deposit options at the BetMGM Illinois sportsbook are:
Master card or visa
Credit card payments are processed quickly and safely, especially when using Visa or MasterCard. BetMGM doesn’t tack on any fees for accepting payments, and your money should be there in your betting account within a minute or two. Prepaid cards such as those from Visa and Mastercard
VIP Preferred ACH
At BetMGM, this is the technique that is most highly suggested for transferring money. If you want to make a deposit using a VIP Preferred e-check, go to the sportsbook’s Cashier. Both your driver’s license number and bank account information will be requested. Money will be taken straight out of your U.S. bank account.
Paypal
BetMGM accepts PayPal for both account creation and funding. Most gamblers in Illinois are already aware with PayPal, a safe and convenient electronic wallet alternative. PayPal deposits are often accepted within 10-20 seconds.
