Sports Betting Update: Indiana Scores Another App, William Hill Goes Mobile in Illinois

Indiana welcomed a new sportsbook to the state on Thursday, when Score Media and Gaming announced its mobile app, theScore Bet, was available in the state.

The Canadian-based media company’s application is now available in three states. Earlier this month, it launched in .

Indiana is the first state we ve launched in under our multi-state market access agreement with Penn National Gaming, and we re excited to showcase our incredible and unique combination of media and gaming to this passionate fan base, said theScore founder and CEO John Levy in a statement.

The app serves as a skin to Penn’s Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg.

uses a sportsbook platform provided by Bet.Works, the company’s technology partner since launching in 2018. The company has developed an app that is able to work in all of the states where theScore is licensed, meaning customers will not need to download a separate app for each state.

To celebrate the kickoff in , theScore is offering a couple special deals. First, users will receive a $100 free bet after making their first wager, and they can get up to $1,000 in cash back on bets over their first 60 days. Certain exclusions, terms, and conditions apply.

With theScore online, Indiana bettors now can place wagers from nine apps. The other apps available are DraftKings, FanDuel, CaesarsOnline, UniBet, BetMGM, BetRivers, PointsBet, and BetAmerica.

Earlier in the week, William Hill announced it has launched , making it the second state in as many weeks were the app was rolled out. The sportsbook also unveiled its app in earlier this month.

The mobile entry in Illinois comes about six weeks after launched its first retail sportsbook in the state at the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, a northern suburb of Chicago.

The Grand Victoria is one of three Caesars Entertainment Corp. casinos in the Land of Lincoln. William Hill, which operates sportsbook operations for the largest US casino company, can also place retail sportsbooks at Caesars Harrah’s casinos in Joliet and Metropolis.

William Hill becomes the fifth mobile app available for Illinois users, joining BetRivers, DraftKings, FanDuel, and PointsBet.

Illinois sports bettors got some more good news on Friday. That s when Gov. J.B. Pritzker renewed the COVID-19 emergency order he reinstated last month to waive in-person registration for mobile sports betting accounts.

The move means bettors can simply download the app they want to use on their phone and register from there.

Pritzker initially issued the in-person registration waiver back in early June, when casinos remained closed because of the COVID-19 crisis. But US sports began restarting. He faced some criticism in late July, when he let the order lapse after allowing casinos to reopen with limited capacity.

Critics questioned the reasoning for forcing people to go to casinos in the middle of a pandemic, and eventually, Pritzker opted to bring back the emergency order late last month.

Pritzker’s extension Friday means that bettors can register online through Oct. 17.