Chicago City Council Advances Bill to Allow Sportsbooks in Stadiums

Chicago's professional sports teams now have the option of adding a retail sportsbook at their venues.

On Monday, a joint City Council committee agreed to lift the restriction on sportsbooks being added in and around the five stadiums in the city.

Chicago Allows Sportsbooks in Stadiums

A final vote on the issue is set for Wednesday’s full Chicago City Council meeting. The measure would impose a 2% tax on gross revenues from sports wagering in the city. Those revenues are subject to a 2% Cook County tax and a 15% state tax.

Owners from the Bulls, Cubs, White Sox and Blackhawks assisted in getting the measure passed with a 19-7 vote on Monday. Before the final vote took place, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts mentioned his team is prepared to continue with its $100 million partnership with DraftKings Sportsbook. The deal would allow Wrigley Field to debut the first stadium sportsbook in the MLB.

“With your approval of this ordinance, construction would begin immediately with the aim of opening a restaurant with a sportsbook in time for the 2023 season,” Ricketts said. “This will create construction jobs and revenues now and permanent jobs in just over a year.

“This is not a casino or even a mini-casino. It’s a sports bar restaurant … It only allows for fans who wish to place a wager to have a window to do so. I expect many fans will come to the sportsbook and never place a bet.”

What Adding Sportsbooks Mean for Chicago

Under the measure, each stadium could offer up to 15 sports betting kiosks for fans to place their bets.

“Fans deserve the ability to be able to hear the crowds cheering while they place a bet,” Ald. Walter Burnett, said during the meeting. Burnett is the lead sponsor of the measure.

Burnett believes a sports betting lounge at the United Center would instill excitement on the West Side ward on days the Bulls or Blackhawks aren’t playing.

Chicago would charge stadiums an initial $50,000 license fee for a sports betting area, in addition to $25,000 to renew the license. There is also a 2% tax on gross revenues. Independent firms would also be eligible to apply for licenses to operate their own sportsbooks at venues for $10,000, with a renewable fee of $5,000.

Opposition to Chicago Sportsbook measure

Nine alderpeople voted against the proposal, which would be more than enough to block a vote on Wednesday. Ald. David Moore was against it because he felt it was not enough to include an “aspirational” goal for firms owned by Latino, Asian, Black and female Chicago residents in the sportsbook’s construction and operations.

Ald. Pat Dowell is concerned the measure would not bring enough revenue for the city. Chief Financial officer Jennie Huang Benett said allowing pro sports teams the ability to set up betting lounges would add between $400,000 to $500,000 to Chicago’s coffers annually.

Alds Anthony Beale and Raymond Lopez agreed that allowing teams to open sportsbooks on their home turf could take away revenue from a Chicago casino.

But Huang Bennett mentioned during the meeting that a study commissioned by Grant Govertsen of Union Gaming found sportsbooks at pro stadiums would have “no discernable impact on traditional revenues at a Chicago casino.”

A permanent Chicago casino could open as early as 2025. The casino is expected to bring in up to $200 million in revenue annually for the city. Revenue would be directed to the city’s police and fire pension funds.