Rosemont eyes sports betting license for Allstate Arena

Rosemont has formed a special gaming committee to start identifying potential applicants to operate a sports wagering facility “within the vicinity” of Allstate Arena.

Under the new state gaming law, the Rosemont-owned Allstate Arena qualifies for a sports facility gaming license. The north suburban village is looking “for the best qualified licensee to operate this facility,” according to a Thursday release.

Calls to John Donahue, who will serve as the Rosemont Gaming Committee chairman, were not immediately returned.

Village spokesman Gary Mack said the committee was formed a couple weeks ago because the village wants to be as “transparent as possible and make sure every possible opportunity to do this the right way is examined.”

“[Rosemont] isn’t going into this helter skelter,” Mack said. “The whole thing was precipitated by there being a number of entities and companies that have expressed some interest. The village isn’t in a position to field those, so we wanted to assemble a group that could do it properly and seek input, hopefully from the gaming board as well.”

There’s no timeline for when an applicant will be chosen, which is in part due to there being no timeline for when sportsbooks may come to the state. The state’s Gaming Board still has to figure out the best roll out for sports betting — a month-long public comment period on the subject ends Sept. 27.

Requests for comment sent to the gaming board and a spokeswoman for Gov. J. B. Pritzker were not immediately returned.