Illinois to debate gambling expansion after November

A local representative said he hopes a bill to expand gambling in the state could progress after the November gubernatorial election.

US.- Several states in the US are either passing, enforcing or debating bills to expand gambling, and Illinois could soon be among them. State representative Bob Rita announced that he expects to bring two House committees together for legislative hearings to debate gaming expansion in the state after the gubernatorial election next November.

The two House committees will have hearings on a measure he has already presented at the end of the previous session, related to internet gaming, fantasy sports and sports betting, in hopes of building a consensus proposal that could be considered in Springfield after the November election. Rep. Rita has already proposed several bills on gaming expansion since 2013, none of which ever made any progress in the Legislature.

“As I have said from the beginning in working on this issue, gaming expansion presents many tremendous opportunities to create revenue, jobs and economic growth in Illinois,” Rita said in a release and added: “The gaming landscape has changed significantly since I took on this issue five years ago, and I want to use these hearings to understand how those changes present new opportunities for us to put the right package together as we look to meet budget needs and provide a spark for our economy.”