Currently, sports betting is a hot topic both in the legislature and State-wide. To date, Illinois has not passed legislation to allow sports betting in the state. This is a topic with a lot of interest and as such we expect to see legislation introduced shortly after the election and possibly taken up in the November Veto session. IGS, directly and in affiliation with the IGMOA and the IRA, are advocating that if the State allows sports betting that our segment of the industry should have an opportunity to participate.
The economics of sports betting is not yet clear. Until we know what tax rate the State places on sports betting and the regulations will be required, it is simply premature to estimate just how lucrative this will be for your establishment. However, an important point to note about sports betting is that the revenue projections are not nearly the same as what VGT machines provide; it’s a very low margin business. We will keep you closely informed as things crystallize as we know many of our retailers are interested in what type of opportunity this may present.
