Illinois Gaming Board Green Lights Fairmount Gaming

The Illinois Gaming Board gave final approval Oct. 29 for Fairmount Park in downstate Illinois to conduct sports wagering and tentative approval for the track's planned casino.

After decades of struggle to win state approval for a supplementary source of revenue for purse accounts, the approvals came on a unanimous vote with no discussion and after only perfunctory questioning of Fairmount president and general manager Melissa Helton.

The IGB this year completed similar approvals for Hawthorne Race Course, which since has opened its sports wagering facility in temporary quarters. The only other remaining Illinois track, Arlington International Racecourse, did not apply for either a casino or sports wagering license.

Both Fairmount and Hawthorne still must pass final licensing requirements before opening their casinos. Both plan to have the dice rolling and cards dealt by late 2021.

Helton told the board, which has limited background in racing matters, the revenue from casino operations is critical to the continued operation of the Illinois racing industry, which has suffered a steady decline as surrounding states bolstered purses through gaming-related operations.

Helton said Fairmount Park, which opened across the Mississippi River from St. Louis in 1925, "has been a very enduring and hardy establishment. It has survived tornados, floods, fires, and financial hardships. And that was before a global pandemic.

"With the inception of new forms of gaming throughout the years, horse racing has suffered greatly with decreased purses and handle. The state of Illinois has been asked many times in the past to pass legislation that would lighten the burden that increased gambling has caused," Helton said.

"The gaming bill giving us the right to apply for a racino, along with the sports wagering opportunity, has been the biggest event to bring Illinois horse racing back to what it was and forward to greater heights," she added.

The approvals, granted one year after the original application deadline, came amid growing pressure on the board to act on applications for six more casino licenses authorized by the 2019 gaming expansion law.

IGB administrator Marcus Fruchter said he and his staff are committed to completing all required background checks and other regulatory requirements before moving forward on those licenses, including one for a casino in Waukegan, north of Chicago, submitted by a partnership led by Churchill Downs Inc., also the parent corporation of Arlington.

CDI is majority owner of Rivers Casino, the state's top-grossing casino, which is located about 10 miles southeast of Arlington.  

Fruchter said he could not commit to a firm timeline for approvals, especially since there are multiple bidders for two licenses, including the one earmarked for Waukegan.

"This may be unsatisfying to some, but we have a process and we're sticking to it," he said. "History teaches what happens when corners are cut."