BetMGM has finally launched its mobile sports betting app in Illinois and punters in the state couldn’t be any happier with the latest addition. BetMGM finally received the go-ahead to debut its product in the state from the Illinois Gaming Board at the tail end of January. BetMGM had to endure many months of waiting, after it applied for a license back in September 2020.
Now that BetMGM is live in the Illinois sports betting market, the brand is now live across 22 booming sports markets in the country. Now that the sportsbook has officially launched in the state, BetMGM customers in Illinois will now have the same experiences as other customers in various states. Some of the perks and treats that punters have to look forward to include access to unique experiences at various MGM Resorts hotels and casinos all over the United States and abroad.
BetMGM is looking to offer sports betting lovers in Illinois a new, innovative, and unique sports wagering experience that they are yet to find in the other 6 available sportsbooks. BetMGM has a whole host of features designed to exhilarate customers including live-in play components, pre-game, futures, as well as parlay bets.
In particular, bettors in the state will be looking forward to BetMGM’s “One Game Parlay”. The “One Game Parlay” feature allows customers to place more than one wager within a single game and is one of BetMGM’s most distinctive components. Bettors in the state will also have access to free contests exclusive to the app for different sporting events.
In addition to these already exciting extras, BetMGM customers in Illinois will also be allowed to redeem their points at all properties across the country. With this debut, BetMGM will be the 7th online sportsbook to debut its sports betting product in Prairie State. Illinois legalized its sports betting market in March 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
BetMGM will be joining its 6 competitors namely DraftKings, Caesars, FanDuel, Barstool, BetRivers, PointsBet. BetMGM picked the perfect time to debut its product in Illinois now that the Governor lifted in-person registrations that had stunted the market’s growth. In-person registration was a law that required punters to travel to a brick and mortar casino before they could place bets at online sportsbooks.
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Illinois Market Has Been Through the Roughest Patch
2 years ago, as the world was still grappling with news of the fast-spreading pandemic across the globe, Lincoln State became the 15th state to legalize mobile sports betting. At the time, licensed casinos, off-track betting facilities, and racetracks had all been shut down for safety reasons. As such, the new Illinois sports betting market was off to a rocky start from its advent.
In-person registration was originally intended to help local brick-and-mortar gambling locations generate revenue from the newly legalized market. However, the state did not anticipate the pandemic and its consequent rules and regulations that kept people confined in their homes for months on end.
The in-person law would have helped the local brick and mortar casinos gain a head start on online-based companies such as DraftKings, which had previously operated illegally in the market for years. This period for in-person registration had been dubbed ‘the penalty box period’ and was only originally intended to last 18 months.
However, with state lockdowns and social distancing restrictions in place in Illinois and most states in the country, the in-person law would hurt brick and mortar casinos more than it helped. Firstly, online casinos were quickly able to bypass the requirement by striking partnerships with existing retail sportsbooks that already had their licenses.
For instance, DraftKings very quickly struck a branding deal with Casino Queen to create DraftKings at Casino Queen. FanDuel, on the other hand, would team up with a Collinsville casino to gain access to the Illinois betting market. The pandemic, which had confined people to their homes, made the transition for these online brands a lot easier than anticipated with more and more people turning to online casinos for their gambling fix.
To deal with the setback, the Governor suspended the in-person registration requirement for approximately 10 months. However, the rule was put back into effect in April last year and was only repealed in March this year. As you can see, Illinois has had one of the strangest sports betting rollouts in the country’s history.
After months of pandemic surges, the good news is that the challenging situation did not stunt the state’s growth. Today, Illinois has now become one of the fastest-growing sports betting markets in the country. Thanks to Illinois’ large population and eager sports betting community, the state has the recipe to become one of the most lucrative markets in the future.
In January 2022, sportsbooks in the state managed to produce $867 million in both online and retail bets. This amount successfully broke the record that had been set in October of $840 million. January’s results were an increase of almost 10% from the $789 million that was generated in December last year.
January’s handle was also an increase of almost 50% compared to the same period in January 2021. The betting volume in the state continues to grow gradually and BetMGM will be able to take advantage of that. BetMGM has also been a huge hit in New York.
Not too long ago, BetMGM became the fifth sports betting app to debut its services in New York. BetMGM has now joined several other apps including DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, and BetRivers. So far, FanDuel and DraftKings appear like the ones to beat in the fastest growing sports betting market in the country.
Final Thoughts
MGM has announced that it has some incredible plans for its new customers in both New York, as well as Illinois. The operator is already the official sports betting partner of various brands and sports teams and leagues, which will make it easier for the brand to grow its presence in these new competitive markets.
