The Illinois Gaming Board has joined the International Association of Gaming Regulators’ first Illegal Gambling Awareness Week, an international consumer campaign intended to help people identify and avoid unregulated online betting sites. The five-day initiative began Nov. 9 and runs through Nov. 13.
Its central tool is checkbeforeyouplay.org, where users can enter a gambling website’s URL to see whether it is licensed in their location before placing a wager or depositing money. The results draw on regulatory records and other verified public sources. A licence in one jurisdiction does not mean a site is authorised elsewhere.
The campaign addresses a market in which illegal sites have become more numerous, sophisticated and visible, making them harder to distinguish from licensed operators. IAGR Chief Executive Kevin Mullally cautioned that a familiar website name does not establish that its operator is licensed where the gambler lives.
Unlicensed websites can expose users to financial fraud, identity theft and withheld winnings, without legal recourse or a dispute-resolution process. They may also lack responsible-gambling safeguards and voluntary self-exclusion options available through regulated operators.
Illinois maintains a registry of authorised casino, sports-wagering and video-gaming licensees, and residents can confidentially report suspected violations through the board’s prohibited-conduct portal or hotline. The board has also issued more than 60 cease-and-desist letters, in coordination with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, to entities believed to run illegal online casino or sweepstakes gaming platforms in the state.
Those letters allege that recipients offered internet games of chance awarding money or other items of value without the licences required under Illinois law, in violation of state criminal law. Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter said the agency would work with regulators and law-enforcement bodies in the United States and abroad, describing illegal gambling as a global challenge.
Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission also participated in the IAGR campaign. IAGR President Brian Krolicki said coordinated consumer tools were needed because online gambling crosses borders, while sites outside a regulated framework can resemble legitimate services without providing the same protections or oversight.
