CHICAGO - Gov. J.B. Pritzker hopes the burgeoning sports-gambling industry will help solve Illinois' budget troubles, but state lawmakers must first legalize expanded wagering.
Pritzker said during his budget address last month that the state could count on $200 million from legalized sports gambling licensing fees to help fill the state's $3.2 billion budget hole.
But in order to get that money, lawmakers must first legalize expanded wagering.
The U.S. Supreme Court last year ended Nevada's monopoly on state-sanctioned sports betting. Illinois is one of about a dozen states where lawmakers are considering legislation to legalize sports gambling.
Pritzker's proposal has not yet been put into bill form, but he wants to create 20 licenses for in-person or online sports betting.
