iDEA Growth Testifies to Illinois Lawmakers on Legal and Mobile Sports Wagering as Safer Way to Bet
Chicago, IL- April 25 – iDEA Growth, a trade association advocating for regulated online gaming and betting, today testified in front of members of the Illinois general assembly on the benefits of legalized sports wagering. iDEA Growth discussed the importance of including a mobile provision in the final legislation.
Jake Williams, representing iDEA Growth, called on lawmakers of the House Revenue Committee’s Sales, Amusement & Other Taxes Subcommittee to legalize sports wagering because it will provide much needed revenue to fund important state initiatives.
“People are betting anyway, usually with illegal and offshore entities,” said Jake Williams, Head of Legal at Sportradar and iDEA Growth member. “Mobile betting offers consumers with a convenient way to place their bet and ensures participants don’t continue to play through the black market. Through legalization and regulation of mobile sports wagering, we protect the consumer and the game and keep the money in the state.”
Williams further testified how mobile provisions to legal wagering provide important, real-time consumer protections that do not exist in land-based betting.
“Software-monitoring applications effectively spot collusion and fraud,” added Williams. “‘Know your Customer’ (KYC) procedures track account funding and gaming transactions. They have been found to discourage money laundering more effectively than land-based methods and to prevent underage gambling better than land-based casinos by requiring online ID and social security verification.”
Williams also stated that technology effectively enforces regulation around state boundaries, ensuring funds from mobile wagering remain in the state where the betting takes place. A 2014 example from the Director of New Jersey’s gaming enforcement body reported that geolocation technology was performing at a 98% success rate ensuring that betting stayed properly within the state’s borders.
Williams’ testimony can be downloaded here.
The Sports Wagering legislation would need to advance before the full House in the Illinois General Assembly prior to the end of the 2019 legislative session on May 31.
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About iDEA Growth
iDEA (iDevelopment and Economic Association) is a 501c6 association which seeks to grow jobs and expand the online interactive gaming business in the United States through advocacy and education. The Association’s membership is comprised of national and international businesses with online interactive entertainment platforms operating or considering operating in the United States.