Fanatics Sportsbook shifted the management services provider license that allows it to conduct mobile sports betting in Illinois from Hawthorne Race Course to the Argosy Casino in Alton Wednesday.
The move comes as Hawthorne Race Course, a thoroughbred and harness racing track in the south Chicago suburb of Stickney, struggles with financial issues. Hawthorne was deemed “preliminarily suitable” to build a racino by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) in 2020, but has been unable to secure the needed financing to build a venue worth an estimated $400 million after performing early construction work that cleared out the grandstand area.
Hawthorne had its harness racing license suspended by the Illinois Racing Board (IRB) Monday due to “failure to provide documentation demonstrating its financial integrity, and proof that they can meet the minimum standards outlined in the Horse Racing Act and rules contained in Title 11 of the Illinois Administrative Code.” At Wednesday’s IRB meeting, horsemen representing the Illinois Harness Horsemen Association (IHHA) and Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen Association (ITHA) detailed bounced checks from the track that totaled nearly $1.2 million.
Fanatics has grown in recent years to become the third-largest digital sportsbook in Illinois behind DraftKings and FanDuel in both handle and revenue. It generated $103.8 million in adjusted gross revenue through the first 11 months of 2025 and was one of only three operators to reach the 35% tax bracket during the 2024-25 fiscal year by surpassing the $100 million revenue threshold.
Fanatics platform won’t be interrupted
Because Hawthorne Race Course still has an organizational sports wagering license, Fanatics can continue to offer retail sports wagering at the racetrack and its three off-track betting locations in Villa Park, Crestwood, and Prospect Heights.
The move by Fanatics to tether to Argosy is an “operational partnership,” and an IGB spokesperson explained the state agency is not required to approve such contracts between organizational licensees and management services providers. Since Fanatics’ management services provider license did not change, the move is not considered a license transfer.
FanDuel conducted a similar transfer in March 2021 when it shifted from Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria and rebranded Fairmount Park, which had designs on constructing a racino in Collinsville near the Missouri border. Those racino plans only recently took off following the 2024 purchase of the track by Accel Entertainment, which restored the branding back to Fairmount Park and Casino. Accel opened its slots-only casino gaming last April and hopes to have a full racino venue operational by 2028.
Fanatics is the first mobile partner for the Penn Entertainment-owned Argosy, and gives Penn two mobile tethers in Illinois. Hollywood Casino has been the tether serving Barstool Sportsbook and successors ESPN Bet and theScore Bet after Barstool first began accepting wagers in March 2021.
TheScore Bet, the latest Penn mobile platform brand, began operations nationwide Dec. 1 after Penn terminated its 10-year deal with ESPN after just two years in November.
