USA

Illinois Online Gambling Legislation – Will they be the next to legal online gambling?

February 22, 2024 William Mcmaster

The State of Illinois is set on the path to becoming another US state where online gambling activities will be completely legal for residents. Sports betting was ticked off the list in June 2019 when it was signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker. Up next is an online casino gaming and the process has begun with State Rep, Bob Rita proposing an addition to the Internet Gaming Act, HB3142.

Bob Rita was instrumental in the legalization of sports betting in the state back in 2019. The new piece of legislation he proposed for online casino gaming is expected to allow “a casino or racetrack to offer Internet gaming or contract with a platform to offer Internet gaming.”

One reason why Lincoln State would consider this bill is to make up for the revenue lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sports betting alone has generated a revenue of over $125 million for operators and $19 million in taxes. iGaming is a more profitable industry and if this legalization goes through, it will speed up the state’s recovery from the global health crisis. However, the State of Illinois is not the only one who stands to gain something from this move, residents get to have their piece of the pie too.

Gambling in Illinois

Illinois is popular for its riverboat casinos which have carried on legal casino operations since 1990. With these being able to provide gambling activities, other proper licensed brick-and-mortar casinos popped up in no time.

Next came video gaming terminals, which were permitted to operate in specific licensed locations. They have a lot in common with online casino games and are seen by many as a sign that casino games will follow shortly. It’s been over ten years since then and it looks like it’s finally happening.

Top Illinois Online Casino Games

Many sportsbooks that joined the sports betting industry in Illinois provide online casino services as well. In other states where full-fledged online gambling is permitted, the brands offer a variety of casino games to their customers. Seeing as they are already gathering a vast customer base with sports betting, once casino gaming is launched, players are expected to flood them as well.

Some of the top bookies from which online casinos can be expected in Illinois are:

FanDuel
Betfair
DraftKings
Caesars

As an online gaming enthusiast, there are a plethora of games that you can expect to find at these online gambling platforms once they are granted entry into the casino gaming market in Illinois. They feature games from top developers such as Microgaming, Playtech, NetEnt, BigTime Gaming, IGT, and so on. Some of these games and their variants include:

Slots
Classic slots
Video slots
Progressive jackpot slots
Megaways slots.
Blackjack
American blackjack
Multihand blackjack.
Roulette
American roulette
European roulette
French roulette
Black and Yellow roulette.

Many of them also come with live dealer games and a mobile gaming option that you can look forward to for the best online gaming experience.

Requirements for Online Casino Gaming in Illinois

If this new piece of legislation for HB3142 is successfully signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker, the casino operators will be required to pay a $500,000 license application fee to the Illinois Gaming Control Board. If the license is approved, it will be renewed with a $250,000 fee. A tax rate of 12% on profits will also be required and according to the proposal, “no local government of this State, including home rule municipalities, may impose or levy taxes on adjusted gross gaming revenue.”

For players, in-person registration will be required during the first six months and they can combine their sports betting account with an online gaming account. All players will also be required to be 21 years old or more and must only bet within the borders of the state.

The Best Online Casinos in Illinois

If you’re an online casino lover living in Illinois, you can now keep your fingers crossed to have a great time playing legally within the state. To find the best online casinos in Illinois, check out our casino reviews and use the CompareAssistant feature to rank them.

Pennsylvania Gambling Growth in January Hits All-Time Record

February 22, 2024 William Mcmaster

Pennsylvania’s gambling market is gradually recovering from the 2020 recession. In January, casinos across the state reported a gambling revenue of $311 million. This is a 3% increase from January 2020. The monthly sports wagers in sportsbooks and online casinos in Pennsylvania for January topped $600 million, an all-time record. Revenue for January was $34 million.

At this rate, a year-end sports betting handle greater than $6 billion looks likely. As long as the pandemic remains ‘under control’, and the sports calendar remains unaffected, there is no reason to expect any changes in the upward trend anytime soon. This is good news not only for the gambling community but for the state too. According to projections, the taxable revenue for online casinos and sportsbooks is expected to pass $800 million.

Numbers Rising

The January sports wagers of $615.3 million represent a 76% increase from the $348.5 million from January last year, and a 12% increase from the previous record of $548.6 million from December last year. There was an increase in taxable revenue of 49% from January last year ($22.8 million to $34 million). Online betting was responsible for 94.3% of the sports betting handle in January (down from 97.6%). The reason for this is the reopening of casinos which resulted in an increase in handle ($11.3 million to $35.4 million) and revenue ($1.2 million to $4 million).

The state made $11.6 million in taxes in January. A total of $111.7 million in taxes has been made since sportsbooks were made legal in Pennsylvania in 2018. New Jersey, whose legal sport betting industry is over a year older than Pennsylvania’s, is the only other state that has made more than $100 million in tax revenue.

This is partly because of the relatively higher sports betting revenue tax rate in Pennsylvania compared to other states that have legalized sports betting. With the growth seen in the Pennsylvania gambling market, it is safe to assume that the high tax rate (36%) has not had the negative effect many thought it would have on the growth of the gambling market in Pennsylvania.

According to figures from the Pennsylvania gaming control board, the sports betting handle of the 2020/21 fiscal year that began June last year has already passed $3.1 billion. This figure is already greater than the 2019/2020 fiscal year’s total of $2.5 billion.

Yearly Breakdown

Here is the breakdown of the handle, revenue, and taxes by fiscal year for sports betting in Pennsylvania.

2018/2019

Handle: $244.6 million
Revenue: $3.1 million
State tax 34%: $699,319
Local share: $41,136

2019/2020

Handle: $2.5 billion
Revenue: $163.2 million
State tax: $46 million
Local share: $2.7 million

2020/2021 (June to present)

Handle: $3.1 billion
Revenue: $175 million
State tax: $59.4 million
Local share: $3.5 million

Sports betting Handle & Revenue for Pennsylvania’s Online Sportsbooks in January 2021

Of the 12 online sportsbooks available in Pennsylvania, 7 reported an increase in handle and revenue.

FanDuel/Valley Forge Casino

Handle – $220.7 million (up from $207.6 million)
Revenue – $14.3 million

DraftKings/The Meadows

$143.5 million in handle (up from $130.9 million)
$7.7 million in revenue

Barstool/Hollywood Casino

Handle – $65 million (down from $71.8 million)
Revenue – $1 million

BetMGM/Hollywood Casino Morgantown

Handle – $39.3 million (up from $12 million)
Revenue – $414,300

Rivers Casino Pittsburgh

Handle – $26.8 million (up from $26.7 million)
Revenue – $1.2 million

Fox Bet/Mount Airy

Handle – $26.6 million in handle (down from $28.6 million)
Revenue – $1.7 million

Parx online sportsbook

Handle – $22.7 million (down from $23.7 million)
Revenue- $1.8 million

Rivers Casino Philadelphia

Handle – $20.7 million (down from $21.8 million)
Revenue – $1.4 million

Unibet/Mohegan Sun Pocono

Handle – $10 million (up from $9 million)
Revenue – $377,770

Caesars Sportsbook/Harrah’s

Handle – $1.2 million (down from $1.4 million)
Revenue – $36,506 in revenue

Recent evidence suggests that the growth experienced in January is expected to continue. This is a good sign for people who must have held worries following the recession from last year.

Online Casinos and Poker rooms reported a record $80.5 million revenue in January (up from $71.6 million in December). Lovers of online betting in Pennsylvania can certainly look forward to the upward trends that these numbers are sure to take.

New Slot Releases at US Casinos in February

February 22, 2024 William Mcmaster

February has been an incredible month for players in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There’s been a great range of high-quality titles released in these two states over the course of the month. Even with so many great titles released already, there are still more to come. We’re taking a look at the latest games to be released this month. New Jersey has slightly more releases to come so we’re going to cover there first followed by what PA has to offer.

New Jersey

Hyper Strike is a 5 reel, 20 payline video slot from DGC that offers 2,000 times the player stake maximum payout.
Double Jackpot is a video slot from Everi. It’s a 3 reel, 5 payline title. This retro-themed game offers a win of up to 2,000 times the stake.
Bison Fury is a 5 reel and 1024 ways to win slot from GVC. It has five jackpots available.
Jacks or Better and Tens or Better are two superb Video Poker titles coming from GVC.
Golden Goddess Mega Jackpot from IGT is a 40 payline slot across 5 reels. Players can win a progressive jackpot when playing this title.
Rainbow Cash Pots is a slot from Inspired that features 10 paylines on 5 reels. Up to 2,000 times the player’s stake can be won here.
Vegas Night Life is a slot by NetEnt. It’s played across 5 reels and has 20 paylines. Players can walk away with as much as 900 times their stake in this title.

Pennsylvania

Jade wins is a slot that comes from AGS. It is over 5 reels and gives 243 ways to win using the Power XStream system.
Longhorn Jackpots is a high volatility video slot from AGS. It has 5 reels and 243 ways to win.
Irish Magic from IGT has 5 reels and 10 paylines. It’s the latest in a long line of high-quality Irish-themed video slots.
Mistress of Egypt is the final release. It’s a slot from IGT that has 5 reels and 30 ways to win.

Excitement Coming

As you can see the range of releases this month is absolutely fantastic. So if you’re a fan of high-quality casino games, then there’s plenty available for you to enjoy.

Bison Fury Arrives on the Scene with $10 Exclusive Free Play Bonus

February 22, 2024 William Mcmaster

US Players will be delighted to hear that Bison Fury has been launched across the BetMGM, Borgata, and PartyCasino brands. It’s a highly exciting video slot that provides players with five reels and 1024 ways to win. This means that it offers the potential to win on every possible payline.

Wins are paid out when a payline is created from the first reel onwards. It has a range of different features including a free spins mode and five different jackpots on offer. It has a great win potential and even without the jackpot portion included it has an RTP of over 93%.

Entain Players Rewarded

What will make players at BetMGM, Borgata, and PartyCasino even happier is that Bison Fury has a great free play bonus on offer. Every single player will be able to claim a $10 free play bonus to celebrate the release of Bison Fury. Not only is it available to everyone, but it’s also really easy to claim. Players just need to sign in to their account and the free play bonus will be available. It’s as simple as that. Once you’ve claimed the bonus, you can just load the game and start playing right away. Spin the reels and enjoy your free play bonus.

Terms and Conditions

Players can claim a single $10 free play to play on Bison Fury. There are wagering requirements of 25 times in place. This bonus is in place for only a single day, so players need to complete their wagering quickly.

This is a fantastic opportunity to enjoy a new release. As it’s only available to players at BetMGM, Borgata, and PartyCasino, you know where to go. This exclusive release means indeed that players at these sites will be able to enjoy Bison Fury for free before anyone else. Try out the latest release today, only at BetMGM, Borgata, and PartyCasino.

Borgata Casino Coming to PA

February 22, 2024 William Mcmaster

Players have been excited for a while about the Borgata Casino launching its online brand in PA. The brand was already available in New Jersey for quite a while, and many players will have some idea of what to expect. There’s been quite some speculating about when the Borgata brand will be going live, but the announcement has finally come now! PA Players can look forward to enjoying the site when it’s launched next week.

Pennsylvania Excited

The Entain brand has already grabbed a lot of attention and praise for its handling of properties within NJ. Because of this, players in Pennsylvania are extremely excited about what will be offered. The license has been awarded by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, so this is something that has been planned for a while. It’s safe to say that a lot of work has been put into creating the site.

This means that players in PA are very much excited about the potential quality of the site. While there are no guarantees in terms of site content at the moment, the high quality of other Entain brands across New Jersey promise that Borgata PA will offer a similar level of service.

Expected Game Choice

It’s expected that the range of casino games Pennsylvania players will have available will be on a par with what other sites offer. So, the Borgata PA is believed to have an extensive collection of video slots, high-quality progressive jackpot games, comprehensive table game choices, and live dealer casino games. This is looking to be a fantastic lobby that will delight PA players next week.

Players can expect to see a number of bonuses and promotions offered too. While these haven’t been confirmed yet, it’s likely that there will be welcome bonuses as well as regular promotions.

It’s safe to say that the residents of Pennsylvania can’t wait for the Borgata PA to be launched!

Blacklisted and Unlicensed Online casinos

February 22, 2024 William Mcmaster

In this new age of web technology and online gambling, several unlicensed and unregistered online casinos are beginning to pop up and catch people out. It’s very difficult to know which online casino is authentic and isn’t, however, in this article we’ll tell you about subtle differences in these illegal websites and why you should use the legal options posted on our webpage at CompareCasino.

What is a Blacklisted Online Casino?

Blacklisted online casinos are those which haven’t got a license from the authoritative gambling commission within its specific state.

Within the USA, if an online casino wants to offer gambling options for its users, it will need to apply for a gambling license, where several checks are carried out. These checks ensure the online casino is legitimate and are sticking to all the guidelines and regulations set out by the commission.

However, blacklisted online casinos will disregard gambling licenses on purpose, so they can get away with stealing money and the identities of the players who opt to use their websites.

How to check the authenticity of online casinos

Blacklisted online casinos will most likely forge the license number located at the bottom of their website. If you think an online casino is illegal, simply check the gambling license number with the respective commission in that state, and they’ll let you know if it’s authentic or not.

Some won’t even provide one, as most users aren’t bothered with checking these things. Those companies that don’t provide users with easy access to the license number are most likely illegal and should be reported to the authorities.

The Risks of Playing at Blacklisted Online Casinos

There are several risks that are involved in signing up to blacklisted online casinos in the USA. Here are a few of the risks, and issues you’ll encounter at illegal online casinos:

Money and Banking Issues

The moment you make the first deposit at an illegal online casino, the owners will have full details of the credit and debit cards used on the site. However, if you used an e-wallet then they won’t have the details for those accounts as e-wallets have added security. Once the details are taken for cards users may experience funds being taken from accounts from unknown individuals.

The usual mishaps that occur with money at these blacklisted casinos occur when withdrawals want to be processed. These establishments will go to the world’s end to stop any withdrawals from being made, and, in most cases, say the withdrawal has been accepted. Then they’ll never process the withdrawal and remove the user’s account from the website entirely.

Promotions and Bonus Issues

The bonuses and promotions will be unreal, and extremely high. Giving users 300x — 500x on their first deposits. Users will then be able to use these funds on all games provided on the website, which will most likely be rigged as well.

The wagering requirements will be unobtainable when you apply for the bonus. The typical wagering requirements for legalized online casinos go along the lines of ‘35x wagering required to be carried out within 30 days.’ At blacklisted online casinos, this wagering requirement may be in excess of 50x to be carried out within as little as 5 days.

What happens if you manage to complete the wagering requirements? The online casino will most likely remove your account upon asking for a withdrawal.

Software Issues

The software provided at illegal casinos will be rigged. Return to player percentages won’t be as high as expected, and random number generators won’t be audited by the well-established authorities. A live dealer casino will not be provided as this is where most players make their money and these establishments only work with companies who have a credited gambling license.

Customer Support Issues

The customer care is very basic. On occasions, someone will answer the phone and help with small queries. On other occasions, the phone will ring out, and companies won’t get back to you at all.

Why Use Legal Gambling Options?

Legal betting options provide everything that the blacklisted casinos can’t provide their users, in terms of safety and security. Users can be assured that the top level of web security is used with SSL encryption and bank-level security at the top-rated casinos. Other perks of using a legal online casino include:

Betting License from accredited commissions
Easy withdrawal process
Simple wagering requirements
Amazing customer support
Responsible gambling advocates
Regulated software and games

We recommend having a look at the top listed online casinos featured on our website here are CompareCasino. The online casinos will have all the good points mentioned above and exclude all the bad points mentioned earlier.

Final Thoughts

Gambling at Blacklisted online casinos in the USA is a risky business. It might be fun at first with the huge amounts of free money you receive, but then it’ll take a turn for the worst when you decide it’s time to make withdrawals and try to take your money back. This is why we recommend using the legal options featured on the CompareCasino website.

References

https://www.casinoonline.co.uk/guides/blacklisted/
https://gamblescope.com/casino/casino-knowledge-base/choosing-a-casino/casino-licence-check.html
https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/for-gambling-businesses/Do-I-need-a-licence/Do-I-need-a-licence.aspx