Betting, online betting, horse racing, casinos, and all other types of gambling are becoming available all around the United States of America. Of course, there are still some cities or states where gambling is entirely illegal, but I believe that will soon change. For example, states such as Utah or Hawaii have completely banned any kind of gambling. It is punishable by law to wager or bet in those states. But, there are also some states that are slowly making a transition into better gambling locations such as Illinois. While Las Vegas, New Jersey, and others are great for casinos, horse tracks, etc.
However, all those cities and states that are trying to transition to bring in more gambling acceptable laws, will need to find some inspiration from other cities such as New Jersey. Illinois is currently in that kind of transition. The state is constantly trying to bring new laws that will make gambling more acceptable.
For example, in 2019, the Illinois Gaming Act of 2019 came into play which made online sports betting legal, but online casinos are still illegal. I hope that things will change for the better in the next few years. I hope that Illinois will try to learn a few things from New Jersey.
1. Make online casinos legal
It is no secret that online shops, stores, libraries, encyclopedias, and all kinds of other businesses are the future. We are constantly pushing for a lifestyle that depends on the Internet and that is a good thing.
Unfortunately, it becomes a bad thing when there are people that do not understand this technological and modern transition. This is the future for humanity, but many governments across the world are hindering that process.
Fortunately, there are some countries or states that provide a great example. New Jersey is one of them. In fact, NJ is quite advanced when it comes to this topic. They passed a bill for online gambling back in 2011. That was nine years ago. In 2024, there are still some states that cannot accept this kind of change.
Of course, I am not saying that Illinois should immediately make online casinos completely legal, but it should at least start with that transition. By taking small steps, they could figure out what exactly they want to do. If they do not like the idea, they could always just put a very large tax on the revenue that comes from this industry. By doing this, the government will have much larger control over the industry.
2. Lower tax
No one likes paying tax, but it is something that we have to do. Paying taxes what keeps our countries running. That is our obligation as a citizen. But, the government also needs to be fair with us. They cannot expect us to pay huge amounts of money for tax purposes.
Unfortunately, Illinois has imposed a very unfair increasing tax when it comes to any kind of gambling. Just a few months ago in 2024, the tax for net income from the gambling business is now 34%. There will be a new act in 2024 which could increase it even further. Right now, we have no idea what is going to happen next year. But, if the citizens of Illinois did not do something about that, the tax will go higher and higher.
Things in New Jersey are a lot more different. The normal tax for all casinos located is just 8 percent. When you compare the taxes between these two states, you can easily figure out just how big the gap is.
Although, the tax for online wagering is a bit higher. It is 15%, but it is still very far away from 34%.
So, if there is something Illinois can learn from NJ is definitely taxes.
3. Better casino regulations
I assume that one of the main reasons why Illinois is so afraid of making changes in the gambling industry is because they do not have the right regulations in place. And that is understandable. This is why it is so important to form a proper board, enforcement work commission that will help with those regulations before building new casinos or opening up online betting websites.
For example, NJ has both the Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Casino Control Commission. With the regulation from both the division and the commission, they can easily handle nine casinos located in Atlantic City.
Keep in mind, all of those casinos in Atlantic City are not in any way small. The largest one, Borgata has over 2700 hotel rooms. The second-largest, Harrah’s has over 2500 hotel rooms. Borgata even has its own online casino website and phone app. Although there aren’t a lot of game choices on Android or iOS as suggested by njgamblingfun.com. Either way, this shows you just how effective the control commission and the gaming division really is.
In 2019, the Atlantic City revenue for gambling was summer around $3.3 billion. I think that Illinois will definitely appreciate this kind of income.
4. Bigger and better casinos
As said previously, gambling in Illinois is not illegal. Only some categories are illegal. In other words, you can easily find casinos in the state. There are several of them in different cities. One of the most famous ones is Harrah’s Joliet, Harrah’s Metropolis, Par-A-Dice, Hollywood Aurora, and a few others.
However, none of these can be compared to what you can find in Atlantic City. The casinos in that city are better, bigger and brighter. There you could find thousands of different games and thousands of different hotel rooms.
While the ones in Illinois have somewhere around 200 hotel rooms. That is just 10% of what you could find in Borgata in Atlantic City.
5. Free games
One of the best things about the online gambling websites in New Jersey is the fact that they let you test out their games with a free version. This is something that every website, state, and country should consider as an option.
As you can see, New Jersey is quite advanced and Illinois should definitely follow in its steps.
