When PointsBet burst onto the Illinois sports wagering scene in September 2020, they did it in a big way. At the time, a partnership was announced between PointsBet and Hawthorne Race Course. Part of the deal was to see a total of four racinos in and around Chicagoland with the PointsBet and Hawthorne branding. The goal being, off-track wagering that would essentially bring Hawthorne to bettors rather than the other way around. Well, so far, that plan appears to still be on track (pun intended) with the Stickley location still under construction. That’s because the retail sportsbook location at Hawthorne was to be nothing more than temporary to get PointsBet into the Illinois sports gambling landscape with expansion playing a bigger role as the sports betting operator gets established and works out all the kinks in their overall game plan.
Off-Track Betting, Is Old But New
As any horse race fan will tell you, off-track betting (OTB) is one of those things that comes with the territory of the Sports of Kings. Betting on the ponies at races taking place in other parts of the country, and other countries is commonplace in many betting facilities. However, off-track betting is something new in the state of Illinois. It’s only been legal since June 2019 when Governor JB Pritzker signed the gambling act into law. The document allowed for several types of online betting which included off-track wagering. The first of the three new racinos proposed by PointsBet and Hawthorne opened in the southern Chicago suburb of Crestwood in late January 2021. What truly assisted the partnership was a change in COVID-19 restrictions that recently increased the capacity limits of facilities in Region 10 from 25% to 50% and allows indoor dining and drinking for parties of no more than ten. This meant that the Club Hawthorne sportsbook in Crestwood was open for SuperBowl which would have been a busy day for them.
There’s A Lot More Than Racinos Here
We can’t talk about the PointsBet/Hawthorne partnership without acknowledging the fact that it’s not just about the racinos. Probably one of the most significant phases in this arrangement dates back to September 12, 2020. That was when the PointsBet Sportsbook online mobile app was officially launched through the Hawthorne partnership. So, although Club Hawthorne at Crestwood is a step into the future and making good on the promise of establishing off-track betting sites, the mobile app is a big part of the plan. Referenced as simply “making use of the second screen of a smartphone,” PointBet has a cutting edge mobile app that gives customers not just access to PointsBet’s full online betting capabilities but pulls more bettors into the exclusive world of PointsBet. That would include the unique-to-PointsBet “points betting” option where you can wager to either win or lose larger amounts based on the margin of the outcome. Points betting is only available online through the PointsBet mobile app and not at their retail sportsbooks.
PointsBet Is Getting Noticed
The Australian-based sports betting operator, PointsBet, is fast becoming a household name in and around Illinois. That’s partly due to the reputation it has earned from betting locations and partnerships is has already formed in other states in the country where sports betting is legal. Considering there are no retail sportsbook locations in the city of Chicago at this point, the PointsBet venue at Hawthorne is the closest one to the city with Club Hawthorne at Crestwood being second. And PointsBet doesn’t waste time getting involved in seasonal sporting events. They recently announced a partnership with the PGA Tour and NBC Sports which led to the creation of a new golf betting program. It was the first of its kind and appeared during the Waste Management Phoenix Open from February 4 to 7. It’s anyone’s guess as to what else PointsBet has up their sleeve.
Two More Club Hawthorne Sites To Come
Now that the Crestwood retail sportsbook is operational, PointsBet will shift attention to one of the other two proposed sites for Club Hawthorne OTB sportsbooks. One is planned for Oakbrook Terrace and the final one should be built in Prospect Heights. Oakbrook Terrace, a city in the suburbs of Chicago was originally named Utopia and is home to the tallest building in the state located outside of Chicago city limits. The city of Prospect Heights is also a suburb of Chicago. As noted above, these chosen locations for OTB proposed by PointsBet and Hawthorne Race Course are examples of taking the excitement of a day at the track to the people in these neighborhoods and introducing them to sports betting or providing bettors in the suburbs better access to the sport of gambling. It’s up to you which way you see it.
Horse Racing In The State Needs Success
The horse racing industry in Illinois is suffering. However, with the Hawthorne partnership with PointsBet and a partnership in the other part of the state between FanDuel and Fairmount Park, hopes are high. Racing industry officials are keeping a close eye on the OTB developments as the whole idea is viewed by many as being not much more than an experiment. If so, at least OTB can introduce sports bettors to a new wagering option. That can prove to be a huge benefit to the horse racing industry.
Summary
PointsBet formed a partnership with Hawthorne Race Course in late 2020. The plan was to create retail sportsbooks in the form of racinos in several locations in Chicagoland. As to be expected with the aggressive reputation PointsBet has, it didn’t take long for them to build a temporary retail sportsbook at Hawthorne to introduce horse racing fans to their brand of sports betting. The plan was to establish a total of three off-track wagering sites in partnership with Hawthorne and the first of these opened in late January 2021 in Crestwood. Known as Club Hawthorne in Crestwood, the site is still getting established and working within the restrictions in place that are part of COVID-19 protocols. So to call it a success is a bit premature with the full potential of the site unknown until pandemic guidelines are completely relaxed. In the meantime, there are still two more racinos to build and PointsBet continues to form partnerships with major sporting leagues and events while getting established in Illinois.
