Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

DraftKings CEO calls competitor “corrupt idiots” then deletes tweet

Posted in:

Illinois

On Monday, DraftKings CEO and co-founder Jason Robins did not hold back his thoughts on Rush Street Gaming. Robins fired off some harsh words showing that he is unappreciative of competitor Rush Street jockeying in the Illinois sports betting field.

On Friday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker decided to reverse his decision on in-person registration to go back to registering online. Rush Street Gaming, who is operating the BetRivers Sportsbook, also wanted online registration

“Feels so good to be taking mobile registrations in Illinois. Especially after the corrupt idiots at Rush Street Gaming tried to block us in the state. Over the long run, good policy always wins. I commend @JBPritzker for doing what’s right for the citizens of Illinois,” Robins tweeted on Monday before deleting two hours later.

DraftKings launched in Illinois last month after partnering with Casino Queens and rebranding its sportsbook operations. Right before the launch, Gov. Pritzker suspended online registration and forced people to sign up in-person at an operating casino. This hurt DraftKings Sportsbook as they are located in Alton, Illinois, about four and a half hours south of Chicago.

Although in-person registration was suspended, that did not stop FanDuel Sportsbook and PointsBet to try and enter the Illinois market. They all received temporary operating permits in the same week during July.

With the Illinois sports betting market heating up, Pritzker then reversed his reversal and allowed online registration to happen in the state. This was big news for sports betting as multiple books were able to benefit from new customer signup.

* Mitchell Armentrout…

A spokesman for Rush Street — billionaire Rivers casino chairman Neil Bluhm’s gaming company — fired back by noting “Rush Street has never been asked to leave a state, pays taxes on every wager, and has not been named in multiple consumer class action suits,” referring to DraftKings’ past legal issues in some markets. […]

“As the state imposes stricter mitigations to combat the spread of COVID-19, the administration has reinstituted online sports betting through the Governor’s emergency powers,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in an email. “Increased mitigation measures are impacting the capacity limits and hours of operation at casinos in regions seeing higher rates of the virus and online sports betting will allow for an even playing field across the industry.” […]

[DraftKings’] top online competitor FanDuel is poised to break out of the penalty box, too, as the betting website has a deal in place to launch through a partnership with the Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria, according to a report published by the sports betting website SportsHandle.com.

In all, seven Illinois casinos and one racetrack, Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, have received Illinois Gaming Board approval to open sportsbooks.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 27, 20 @ 9:31 am

Comments

CorruptionKings?

Comment by Dotnonymous Thursday, Aug 27, 20 @ 9:49 am
Is he wrong?

Comment by southsider Thursday, Aug 27, 20 @ 10:01 am
==and one racetrack, Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, have received Illinois Gaming Board approval to open sportsbooks.==

NJ and Pennsylvania governors have both openly questioned the wisdom of subsidies to horse racing industry, especially during Covid where state budgets are tight. I imagine J.B. will do the same fairly soon. Combined with Arlington’s uncertainty, the future for Illinois racing is bleak.

Comment by Can Thursday, Aug 27, 20 @ 10:08 am
1% of Americans claim horse racing as their sport of choice. It ranked behind swimming and track and field as the 13th most popular sport.

Kudos to those who have kept it in the public vernacular politically for far longer than the popularity of the sport demands.

Comment by Upon Further Review Thursday, Aug 27, 20 @ 10:19 am
== Is he wrong? ==

Maybe not. But he plays the same game. Draftkings has an army of lobbyist and liberally sprinkles campaign contributions, too. As Michael Corleone might say: “We’re both part of the same hypocrisy.”

Comment by Roman Thursday, Aug 27, 20 @ 11:17 am
To my knowledge the state of Illinois is not subsidizing the horse racing industry at all. A license to conduct sports betting or casino gambling isn’t a subsidy.

Comment by Collinsville Kevin Thursday, Aug 27, 20 @ 11:36 am
My Dad used to say that you win every time you don’t bet on sports. Still true. Good luck to all the folks so eager to give their money away online.

Let’s hope the State gets a good cut of the action. We need the money.

Comment by Eddie Spaghetti Thursday, Aug 27, 20 @ 12:42 pm
==1% of Americans claim horse racing as their sport of choice.==

Among those 1% was Jim Edgar.

Comment by Chatham Resident Friday, Aug 28, 20 @ 8:05 am