Sportsbooks will likely soon be seen at, or near, five stadiums around the Windy City, after the Chicago City Council voted 39-9 on Wednesday to lift a city ban on sports betting and enact rules to govern the practice.
Under the controversial sports betting ordinance, the city will levy a 2% tax on wagers, in addition to a 2% tax levied by Cook County and a 15% state tax. The administration of Mayor Lori Lightfoot contends that the city tax will likely generate between $400,000 and $500,000 in tax revenue annually, based on an estimate of $25 million in annual revenue from sports betting.
The ordinance opens the door for sportsbooks to be located either at or within a five-block radius, of:
- Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox
- Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs
- Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears
- United Center, home of the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls
- Wintrust Arena, home court for DePaul University’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as the WNBA’s Chicago Sky
What’s in the Ordinance
The ordinance passed by the City Council calls for amending the city’s Municipal Code. Specifically, Section 4-5-010 of the Code was amended by inserting verbiage that establishes license fees, taxes, and location restrictions for sports betting, among other things.
Operators may open up to 15 sports betting kiosks or wagering windows within a location where in-person wagers are made, as long as that location does not offer food and beverages for purchase. The ordinance also stipulates that retail sports betting may not occur between midnight and 10 am on Mondays through Thursdays, between midnight and 9 am on Fridays, or between 1 am and 9 am on Saturdays and Sundays.
Two types of sports wagering licenses — primary and secondary — will also be issued. Primary licenses will cost $50,000 for the initial year and $25,000 per year after that, while secondary licenses will cost $10,000 in the first year and $5,000 annually for every year following.
The ordinance was introduced by Alds. Walter Burnett Jr. (D-27th), Brian Hopkins (D-2nd), Emma Mitts (D-37th), Roderick Sawyer (D-6th), Silvana Tabares (D-23rd), Matthew O’Shea (D-19th), and Felix Cardona Jr. (D-31st).
Vote Ends Years of Bitter Debate
Wednesday’s vote by the city council comes two days after a key committee — the Joint Committee on License and Consumer Protection and Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards — voted 19-7 in favor of the ordinance.
The debate over the ordinance had proven rather cantankerous down the stretch. The owners of the Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs, and White Sox, along with several aldermen and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, joined operators in supporting the proposal. Together, they faced some opposition from skeptical aldermen and Neil Bluhm, a billionaire casino magnate who owns Rivers Casino Des Plaines. Bluhm has also submitted two separate bids to build a major land-based casino in the city’s central area.
Bluhm and others contend that opening the five sportsbooks would negatively impact a future casino in Chicago. “I can assure you as an experienced casino and sportsbook operator, that this ordinance will cost the city of Chicago serious money,” Bluhm reportedly told aldermen on Monday, according to WBBM-TV. “Why take a chance like this? There’s a big risk with no reward.”
But Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Bulls and the White Sox, leveled accusations that Bluhm was a hypocrite. He claimed Bluhm had previously approached him and the owners of other Chicago teams over a proposal to open sportsbooks at their stadiums.
“That was long after the casino was approved for Chicago,” Reinsdorf said, according to WBBM. “At that time, he had no assurance he would be chosen to operate a casino in Chicago but was not concerned that these books would in any way cannibalize whoever was chosen to operate the casino. It makes me wonder: if he had gotten his way back then, would we be having this meeting today?”
The Cubs and DraftKings announced that they were joining forces in an official and exclusive partnership back in September 2020, shortly after the proposed ordinance was introduced. In addition to DraftKings being named the first Official Sports Betting and Daily Fantasy Partner of the Cubs, the multi-year deal also included “plans for the construction of a “first-of-its-kind DraftKings retail sportsbook at Wrigley Field.
“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,” Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts told the committee before their affirmative vote Monday, according to WMAQ-TV.
The Illinois Legislature first approved stadium sportsbooks in 2019.
