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The news coming out of the Illinois sports betting landscape was a shocker. Shocker because the biggest sports league in the country, the NFL, wants the state to put a ban on certain types of bets.
Surely, the leagues have had their hands in what’s bet-able and what’s not before. However, it hasn’t been public until now. You’ll want to keep reading to get insight into the latest news that could have far-reaching effects beyond Illinois and into other legal sports betting states.
NFL Wants To Prohibit 11 Bet Types
Prop betting is the target of the NFL’s worries. Don’t think your classic spread or over/under bets are in danger here — they’re not. Here’s some but not all 11 prop bets that the NFL has asked the state of Illinois to stop:
- First plays outcomes (e.g. whether it’s a pass or run play to start the game)
- Replay results
- Whether a kicker will make or miss a field goal
- Whether a kicker will make or miss an extra point
- Player misconduct and penalties outdone
- Officiating assignments
- Roster or personnel decisions
- Whether a quarterback’s first pass of a game will be incomplete.
What’s the common thread between these bet types? Well, according to the NFL, these are “100% determinable by one person in one play.” Of course, that makes these bets much more easy to fix. Whereas fixing the game spread when there’s 50+ players (all making millions of dollars) on each team, is difficult if not neat impossible to stage ahead of time.
“Pre-determined choices and actions within the control of individual players, coaches or league officials are susceptible to abuse and manipulation,” Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter wrote.
The Illinois Gaming Board Takes Action
The NFL — specifically NFL Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs Jonathan Nabavi — sent this request to the Illinois Gaming Board in early October. The board responded by banning those NFL-based bets before Week 8’s slate of games that just happened.
Illinois was not the only state to offer these types of bets either. The NFL also sent requests to the likes of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. All three took action alongside the NFL.
Less Bets Likely Won’t Affect Illinois Betting Numbers
While Illinois is losing some popular bets over night, they’re likely not losing sleep over it either — hence why they acted so fast on the NFL’s request. Bettors will likely take what money they wanted to throw on these wagers and put it elsewhere (hundreds of props still exist out there anyway).
All recent numbers point toward Illinois trending toward record-setting numbers this football betting season anyway. Earlier in October, the Illinois Gaming Board posted betting numbers for the month of August. They report these with a lag hence why we’re still in August and not September despite it almost being November now.
Anyways, Illinois once against proved itself as a top legal sports betting market in the country. A total of $878 million was wagered in August — mostly on mobile betting apps, but at local casino properties too. Only the states of New York and Nee Jersey have reported higher numbers that month.
The marketplace is trending up in more ways than one. First of all, the state is up year over year by almost 30 percent. Compared to July 2024, Illinois climbed 13.5 percent.
What’s more is Illinois is keeping a good chunk of these bets to themselves. If you remember, the state passed a new progressive tax on sports betting. For the top operators like DraftKings and FanDuel, they are now on the tax hook for 35 percent compared to the old rate or 15 percent for everyone.
International Sportsbooks Still Offer These Bets
Say you still want to try your luck at the now banned prop bets? What’s there to do?
The solution is dead simple: head to an international sportsbook. These sites aren’t as the heavily restricted as regulated platforms like BetMGM or Fanatics. Because of that, they have more betting markets — especially in props.
Furthermore, due to their international operating base, they service bettors from anywhere and everywhere. It doesn’t matter if you live in a legal sports betting state or not. The locations these platforms are based out of do have legal betting, which helps them sidestep local rules (and leagues like the NFL) that want to handcuff betting sites.
The thing is there’s hundreds upon hundreds of these international sportsbooks. Options are great, but that can be overbearing too. This is why we’ve formulated a top-5 list of the top internal bookies out there. Here’s who made our cut:
At this rate, international sportsbooks will be the one and only place to wager these types of props. The NFL is going to continue to crack down on these wager types — hence why they’re nicknamed the No Fun League. But hell, even NCAA has convinced most states to bar betting on player props too. All of a sudden, intentional bookies are a lifeline for bettors looking for some good ol fashioned fun.
Best Betting Sites 