State Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr. (D-Chicago) is determined to bring legalized iGaming to The Prairie State.
Speaking to Poker Industry PRO earlier this week, Gonzalez said that despite the failure of recent online casino bills, he's determined to reintroduce iGaming legislation in 2025.
“Our priority this session was the budget, and although igaming was presented as a potential new revenue stream for the state, members of the House and Senate were wary of its implementation, especially after VGTs [video gaming terminals] expressed opposition to the bill,” Gonzalez told PRO on Monday.
Seven US states have legalized iGaming, allowing licensed gambling operators to offer real-money casino games online and via mobile platforms.
While Gonzalez and other Illinois legislators have previously introduced bills that would allow the state to join the iGaming pack, attempts to bring online casinos to the state never materialized.
In Feb. 2023, Gonzalez introduced House Bill 2239. It took nearly a year to have the bill assigned to the House Gaming Committee, where it was then referred to the House Rules Committee. However, the bill failed to pass the committee and never made it to a vote.
A similar bill, Senate Bill 1565, was sponsored by State Sen. Cristina Castro and introduced several times. But much like Gonzalez’s legislation attempts, it failed to make it past the committee.
Both bills proposed that Illinois online casinos licensed by the Illinois Gaming Board would operate up to three ‘skins’ and pay a 15% tax on Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR).
Illinois won't see any progress in iGaming legislation until the General Assembly meets in January. At that time, both Gonzalez and Castro could reintroduce their bills to the assembly.
Zivhas been deep in the iGaming trenches for over 20 years, long before most people could spell "geolocation compliance." With a background in marketing and business development at some of the biggest names in gambling tech, Ziv knows the industry from the inside out. Since joining Covers, he's turned his sharp eye (and sharper keyboard) toward everything happening in the fast-moving world of online gambling. Whether it's new state launches, the latest twists in regulation, or what the big operators and game providers are cooking up next, Ziv breaks it all down with clarity, context, and just the right amount of snark. He covers the business side of betting, from affiliate trends and revenue reports to the tech powering your favorite slots. His motto in writing is “let’s make it make sense without putting you to sleep.”
When he’s not tracking gambling legislation or looking for the next breaking story, Ziv is living and dying with every pitch and play from his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins. As a Pitt graduate, it’s a city loyalty forged in heartbreak, but one he wouldn’t trade for anything, except maybe a few more playoff wins.
When away from the keyboard, Ziv loves to hit the road and soak up the energy of casinos. Whether strolling the neon jungle called the Vegas Strip, or wandering into a smoky riverboat casino in the Midwest, Ziv’s in his element. He’s the guy chatting with players, blackjack dealers, and asking pit bosses way too many questions, all in the name of “research,” of course. The casino floor isn’t just his workplace, it’s a weird and wonderful ecosystem of flashing lights, wild characters, and pure sensory overload, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
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