Illinois delays new casino licenses because of COVID-19 Leanne Fuller, The Metropolis Planet · November 5, 2020 at 7:42 am The Illinois Gaming Board is delaying handing out the first round of casino licenses as part of Gov. JB Pritzker’s statewide gambling expansion. “I know everybody’s excited to get their applications and their casinos and their video gaming permits and so forth. I don’t blame them. I understand that. I endorse it, but we have to do our job as well,” Illinois Gaming Board Chairman Charles Schamadeke said. The delay comes more than a year after Pritzker announced of a new multimillion-dollar resort and casino to be built in Williamson County. The board blames the delay on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, saying the novel coronavirus wasn’t a part of everyday life back in October 2019 when the casinos submitted their applications.
