Illinois gets one bidder for online-only sports betting licenses

An advertisement for online gambling company Betway appears during a Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC at London Stadium on April 16, 2023. (Alex Pantling/Getty)
After striking out last year, Illinois has come up with one bidder in its second try to award three online-only sports betting licenses.
The Illinois Gaming Board announced Thursday that DGC IL, a subsidiary of Las Vegas-based Digital Gaming Corp., is the only qualified applicant for the online sportsbook license, which unlike other operators in the state would not be tethered to any casino, racetrack or sports venue.
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DGC applied for the online sports betting license during the first round of applications last year, but dropped out. It has since been acquired by Super Group, a British online gaming holding company looking to expand its reach into the U.S. Super Group previously leased its Betway sports betting platform to DGC, which employed it in a handful of states, including Iowa and Indiana.
If DGC stays the course this time around, it will need to undergo a full vetting process by the Gaming Board — and pay a $20 million licensing fee — before getting final approval to operate in Illinois.
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“Being found qualified and identified as the winning bidder are neither a finding of suitability nor a grant of licensure,” Gaming Board administrator Marcus Fruchter said Thursday. “It’s simply a finding based on information presently known by the Gaming Board, that the applicant and its key persons meet the minimum suitability criteria.”
A spokesperson for DGC/Betway said company principals were unavailable to comment Thursday.
Two applicants initially filed by the March 1 deadline, but Bet J&J, an Effingham-based video gaming operator, withdrew July 10, leaving only DGC in the running, Fruchter said.
Last year, the state came up empty when four companies applied for the three online licenses, but none made it through the process.
In the previous round, Tipico missed the application deadline, DGC withdrew its application and Fubo Gaming, a division of New York-based streaming service FuboTV, was notified it did not meet the minimum qualifications. Fubo subsequently ceased operation of its online sports wagering business.
The only remaining bidder, Tekkorp Digital, a Las Vegas-based blank check company, called off plans to acquire Caliente Interactive, a Mexican gaming company with ties to a controversial Tijuana business owner, and submitted a request to withdraw its application in October.
The Gaming Board reopened the selection process and set a March 1 deadline, generating one qualified applicant.
Digital Gaming Corp. is a nine-year-old iGaming and online sports betting company that operates in eight states: Iowa, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia and Ohio. It was acquired in January by Super Group for $12.6 million in cash and the assumption of $150 million in debt, according to the British company’s annual report.
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As part of its application, DGC said it will up the required $20 million license fee by $2.5 million, at its own discretion, according to the disclosure statement filed with the Gaming Board. It also pledged to donate 1.5% of post-tax gaming revenue to Common Goal USA, a nonprofit that promotes soccer in underserved communities.
Fruchter said the Gaming Board will consider reopening applications for a third try at awarding the remaining online-only licenses, pending the outcome of the DGC approval process.
Approved in 2019, the Illinois Sports Wagering Act allows the state’s casinos, horse tracks and seven of the largest sports venues to open both a retail and online sportsbook. It also created three online-only sports betting licenses.
There are nine operating sportsbooks in Illinois, with several more in the pipeline.
On Thursday, the Gaming Board granted an initial sports wagering license for the Hard Rock Casino Rockford. Last month, it approved a sportsbook at the Temporary by American Place casino in Waukegan, which is expected to open in late August or early September.
Illinois launched sports betting at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines in March 2020, just days before it was shut down by the pandemic. The state has been gaining momentum since then, topping $1 billion in wagers for the first time in October, a feat which has since been duplicated regularly.
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In 2022, more than $9.7 billion was legally wagered on sports in Illinois, up from about $7 billion the previous year, according to data from the Gaming Board. About 96% of the sports bets were placed online.
The state’s nine operating sportsbooks generated $795 million in adjusted gross revenue in 2022 — the money kept after winnings are paid out — a 51% year-over-year increase, according to Gaming Board data.
FanDuel, which is associated with the Fairmount Park horse racing track near St. Louis, was the state’s top sportsbook, with nearly $343 million in adjusted gross revenue last year, according to the data. DraftKings, which is partnered with the Casino Queen in East St. Louis, was the state’s No. 2 sportsbook with $201 million in adjusted gross revenue, followed by BetRivers in Des Plaines at $98 million.
Sports betting is live in 34 states and Washington D.C., with four other states legalizing but not yet launching, according to the American Gaming Association.
Last year, Illinois ranked No. 2 in sports betting revenue behind New York, according to the AGA.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com