Betway, which was named a finalist for a license in July, also submitted an application during the original online-only licensing process that ended in December 2021, but withdrew during that review process. The supplemental bidding process for one of the state’s three available online-only licenses became necessary after Tekkorp Digital withdrew its application in October 2022. Tekkorp — doing business as Caliente Interactive — was a surprising finalist in April 2022 in a bidding process that is confidential per state law.

The withdrawal by Betway again leaves all three online-only licenses unclaimed. It also again raises the question of whether the $20 million fee for an online-only license is too expensive an entry point despite Illinois being the No. 2 market nationally. Illinois welcomed its eighth mobile operator in late September with the launch of Circa Sports, which was followed by Circa’s retail launch at The Temporary in Waukegan earlier this month.

Fruchter made the announcement regarding Betway’s withdrawal during his general comments, reviewing the timeline of events that led to Betway being moved forward as the only applicant up for consideration during the supplemental process. Fruchter said Betway made the request to withdraw its application “earlier this week,” but he did not state any reasons for Betway’s wiithdrawal.

Further, he did not say if the IGB will have a second supplemental bidding process for prospective operators to submit applications. More than 96% of Illinois’ all-time handle of $25.3 billion has come from mobile and online betting. It has surpassed $1 billion in monthly handle on five occasions.

Fruchter announced the IGB was tabling the initial Management Services Provider license vote for Unibet, which submitted its application to conduct mobile wagering in November 2020. Unibet — which would be tethered to Argosy Casino Alton near the Missouri border and St. Louis area — does have a Chicagoland presence in neighboring Indiana, where it is the mobile sportsbook of Horseshoe Hammond in the northwest part of the state and less than an hour’s drive from Chicago.