March Madness possible — but not the Oscars — as Illinois sports betting moves closer to launch

Sports betting inched one step closer to becoming a reality in Illinois.

A second round of operating procedures for casinos and racetracks was released by the Illinois Gaming Board on Thursday, but one key thing was missing: a launch date.

Instead, the board made it clear that once casinos and racetracks do get the go-ahead, they can start taking bets “as soon as they are ready to do so.”

Of course, as gambling venues get “ready,” they still have no clue when the regulatory agency will give them the final go-ahead. But the board is making allowances for “temporary” permits, presumably to speed that process up a bit.

“Once applications are submitted, vetted, and approved, an applicant may receive a temporary operating permit and could then begin accepting wagers as soon as they are ready to do so,” gaming board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said in a statement.

But Illinois gamblers should prepare to make their bets on sporting events, not the entertainment world.

In Indiana, gambling regulators announced Wednesday that sportsbooks will be able to lay odds on the Academy Awards next month. Online betting giants DraftKings and FanDuel each requested Indiana Gaming Commission approval to open the Oscars to the action.

But the Illinois Gaming Board’s new rules specify the state sports betting will be limited to sports — no bets on whether “The Irishman” will win an Academy Award this year.

AP

The new rules specify that betting will be contained to “any professional sport, any motorsport, and any collegiate sport excluding those involving Illinois collegiate teams.”

“The Illinois Gaming Board retains the authority to ban certain types or kinds of wagers or ban wagers on certain sports, leagues, or other activities,” the board says on its website.

Architects of the gambling expansion hope sports betting will be up and running within weeks, to help Illinois nab some much needed revenue.

“March Madness is a reasonable goal [for sports betting to begin],” state Rep. Mike Zalewski, D-Chicago, said. “I think that the second round of rules gives the operators the ability to know once they get their application approved, how fast they can turn a key into being operational.”

Zalewski, who played a key role in the gambling expansion measure last year, said the new rules are mostly technical in nature but are an “early good step.”

Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images; David Goldman/AP

“It shows that they’re moving things along,” Zalewski said. “Hopefully it’s up and running by March.”

Of course, even if Illinois sports betting does go live in time for March Madness, gamblers shouldn’t plan on laying any money on Loyola or any other home-state favorites, since the law bans betting on Illinois collegiate teams.

Nearly seven months after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed sports betting into law as part of a massive gambling expansion, the Illinois Gaming Board has yet to announce an industry launch date.

Applications for sports betting licenses were issued for Illinois casinos and racetracks in December, while state gambling regulators were still ironing out thousands of rules governing operating procedures.

Sports betting was legalized in Indiana about two months before it was in Illinois, and sportsbooks opened in Indiana in September. Bettors have plunked down nearly $430 million in Indiana casinos and on mobile betting applications since then, generating almost $4 million in tax revenue, according to Indiana regulators.

The Illinois Gaming Board next meets Jan. 30.