\u201cAs I have said from the beginning in working on this issue, gaming expansion presents many tremendous opportunities to create revenue, jobs and economic growth in Illinois,\u201d Rita said in a press release on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“The gaming landscape has changed significantly since I took on this issue five years ago, and I want to use these hearings to understand how those changes present new opportunities for us to put the right package together as we look to meet budget needs and provide a spark for our economy,\u201d he added.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nDesperate Condition <\/strong><\/h2>\nMeanwhile, the state\u2019s Racing Board is plowing ahead with plans to introduce historical horse racing machines at the racetracks. These allow gamblers to place bets on races that have already been run by playing reruns from around the world, while concealing the names of the horses and dates and locations of the races.<\/p>\n
There are legal questions about whether this would constitute gambling expansion, and therefore whether the board has the authority to authorize the machines without going through the legislature. But according to board member Tom McCauley, desperate times call for desperate measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Illinois horse racing industry is in a desperate economic condition. It is not hyperbolic to say that its viability is in doubt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Illinois State Rep. Bob Rita wants the state legislature to take a serious look at online gaming and sports betting next year, and for that he needs allies. The Blue Island Democrat will lead a series of hearings in a bid to build consensus on online poker, online casino, daily fantasy sports, and sports betting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":85005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,14007,14577,19,13,18,61,13592,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Chicago Lawmaker Kickstarts Illinois Online Gaming, Sports Betting Push<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n