Churchill Downs could get regulatory nod to Enlarge further in Illinois as the state gears up for sports Gambling legalization push
Churchill Downs could get regulatory approval for its offer to buy a majority stake in Rivers Casino Des Plaines this Friday, news outlet Daily Herald reports.
The Kentucky-based gaming and horse racing company cited the potential legalization of sports gambling among the chief reasons for its decision to seek expansion in Illinois.
The Illinois Gaming Board is now conducting a probe to Churchill Downs’ financing as well as criminal background checks of company officials. The analysis is a necessary step, where the board will base its decision whether to greenlight the offer.
The Daily Herald accounts that board members will vote on the transaction during their next assembly , scheduled for Friday, February 1. Gambling Board spokesperson Gene O’Shea told the paper that it wasn’t immediately known whether the analysis will be completed in time for the proposed acquisition to be inserted on Friday’s agenda.
The purchase of a 50.1% stake in Rivers Casino will enlarge Churchill Downs’ presence in the Chicago area, an important gaming market. The deal will even set the company in an excellent place, should sports betting become legal in Illinois.
Churchill Downs is to cover at least $326 million to your desired majority stake in the Des Plaines-based casino.
Gov. Pritzker Tacks Sports Betting Onto State Budget Plan
Churchill Down is expanding its Illinois footprint at a time when the state is gearing up for another gaming expansion drive, this time you related to the legalization of sport betting. Illinois’ recently sworn-in Governor, J.B. Pritzker, has included the consent of the clinic in the funding plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019.
Gov. Pritzker’s sports betting drive is to take form as a bill, however, the state’s leading legislator requires up to 20 permits for retail and online sports betting to be issued. Each permit would come at a $10 million cost. To put it differently, the state could collect $200 million in upfront payments from companies interested to run sports betting.
Licensed operators will be taxed at 20% on gross wagering revenue. Legislators job that the state could annually collect between $77 million and $136 million in tax revenue from sports betting. Sportsbook owners will also be asked to pay an annual license renewal fee of $5,000.
Gambling expansion proposals have failed in the state in the past several decades. However, Illinois has the opportunity to become the first state in the Midwest to legalize sports gambling and secure an important competitive edge over its neighbors. That, paired with Gov. Pritzker’s support and an increasing budget deficit, could bode well for a sports betting legislation and its motion throughout the Illinois Legislature.
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