Illinois Casinos | Updates 2022

References

1. Illinois Gaming Board
2. US Department of Justice
3. American Gaming Association
4. National Council on Problem Gambling
5. International Association of Gaming Regulators

Physical location boundaries

Illinois online sportsbook operators utilize geolocation security technology, similar to other states that have legalized online sports betting. The quality of these geolocation services is important since Illinois is bordered by two states, Indiana and Iowa, that also have online sports betting.

The bettor does not have to be an Illinois resident to place a wager, but simply in the state at the time the bet is placed. A strong WiFi signal or cellular service provider should be enough for the geolocation tracker to confirm the point of origin, though being close to a bordering state could lead to occasional confusion.

March 2014

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton says he believes online gambling legislation will pass in the state. However, he also says the issue of a possible expansion to land-based casino gambling in the state must be dealt with first.

Legalization Update: A Look at US States Considering Regulated Online Poker

by Sean ChaffinMay 10, 2021

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Windows and Mac OS users can install the SB Poker software to their machines while a web-based poker room caters to Android, iOS, and other mobile users. The initial deposit match is a 100% up to $1,000 deal, and you can also claim bonuses in the attached casino and sportsbook.

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Responsive customer care

Customer care is something that we mention time and time again, simply because it’s such an important consideration for our team of experts. Therefore you’ll always find us highlighting the responsiveness and reliability of operators’ customer support departments, as well as the number of digital channels that they can be reached on. We believe that there must be at least one way to reach a real human being on the other end, especially when you have a pertinent issue that needs to be resolved immediately.

Illinois Gaming Board 

The IGB regulates all casinos and sports gambling in the state. This includes approving licenses as well as conducting investigative and legal operations.

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Poker Gambling

There are several online poker rooms available for players looking to hit the tables and take on players in a game of poker. These offer you the chance to play when you want and from where you want, getting involved in online games rather than waiting for local games to be set up.

Types of Live Illinois Gambling

Popular Games

• Slots: Yes
• Blackjack: Yes
• Poker: Yes
• Craps/Roulette: Yes
• Horses: Yes
• Lottery: Yes

Horseracing is the oldest form of live gambling in Illinois. There are seven racetracks in Illinois. Racebooks are also legal in Illinois. This is where bettors can get off-track action on simulcast races.

The Illinois Lottery is one of the oldest in the country. Scratch-off tickets and lotto drawings are spread by the Illinois Lottery. Lottos include LuckyDay Lotto, Lotto Extra Shot, Powerball, and Mega Millions.

Illinois casinos opened on riverboats in 1991. All casino games were legal from the first day of gambling. Poker, slots, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, and table games that use cards are all legal in Illinois casinos. Riverboats are strategically located throughout the state. There is a poker room in all Illinois casinos.

Slots and video poker are spread in bars, restaurants, gas stations, and charitable organizations. The best video poker game returns 97.9%. This is below the standard of casinos in Illinois. There are about 4,500 video gaming establishments in Illinois. These businesses host about 18,000 machines.

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What Forms of Gambling Are Allowed?

When casino and riverboat casino games are concerned, a great variety of them is regulated and allowed. Casino approved games include table games and their subtypes such as Baccarat, Blackjack, Poker, Slots, and other types of electronic gaming devices.

As for other forms of gambling, there are plenty of them in Illinois. Charitable gaming that can include roulette, blackjack, poker, and other casinos games, plus bingo, raffles, pull tabs, jar games, and even state fair games are all legal and authorized by the Charitable Games Act, Bingo License and Tax Act, Illinois Pull Tabs and Jar Games Act, Raffles and Poker Runs Act, and State Fair Gaming Act. All these forms of gambling are overseen either by the Illinois Gambling Board or the Department of Revenue, except for the raffles and poker runs that can be licensed and conducted under the supervision and licensing system of individual counties.

In the case of sports betting, it is allowed under the Sports Wagering Act and betting on all professional sporting events except the minor leagues. All bettors must be over 21 and physically located in Illinois and can bet on either inter-track wagering locations at racetracks or via internet and mobile applications designed and operated only by licensed organizations.

Apart from these, both state and interstate lotteries are allowed, in both physical and online forms, and Illinois can be considered a trailblazing state when lottery laws are concerned.

To play in casinos or wager on video lottery in Illinois, you must be over 21, while for playing bingo, raffles, or bet on horse racing, you must be over 18.

May 2017

The Illinois Senate passed a bill 42-10 seeking to legalize online gambling and daily fantasy sports in the legislature’s final day of the session.

Аrе Thеrе Tахеs оn Wіnnіngs аt Іllіnоіs Оnlіnе Саsіnоs?

Аs оnlіnе саsіnоs аrе stіll іllеgаl іn thе stаtе, thеrе іs nо іnfоrmаtіоn аbоut futurе tах rаtеs. Ноwеvеr, оnсе Іllіnоіs gаmblіng gеts thе grееn lіght, thе gаmblіng wіnnіngs wіll bе сеrtаіnlу іnсludеd іn реrsоnаl іnсоmе wіth аn Іllіnоіs саsіnо tах rаtе оf 4.95%. Рlауеrs wіll аlsо hаvе tо соunt оn ІRS fеdеrаl tах оblіgаtіоns.

Меаnwhіlе, еvеrуоnе іs sреаkіng аbоut thе bіg рrоjесt іn thе stаtе іn thе fоrm оf а Сhісаgо саsіnо. Іt wіll арреаr іn thе mаrkеt bу 2025 аnd thе сurrеnt рrороsаl соnsіsts оf а rеsоrt thаt іnсludеs а саsіnо, а hоtеl wіth 500 rооms, bаrs, аnd rеstаurаnts. Thе wіnnеr оf thе рrоjесt wіll gеt thе rіght tо ореn а саsіnо fоr 2 уеаrs аt thе рlасе оf thеіr sеlесtіоn. Thе ехресtеd tах rаtе fоr thіs vеnuе іs 40%.

Can I play online poker in Illinois? The answer is yes!

Is it legal to play online poker in Illinois? The answer to this is also yes!

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1. Poker Sites1.1.   Ignition 1.2.   SB Poker 1.3.   BetOnline 1.4.   Bovada 1.5.   Americas Cardroom 1.6.   CoinPoker 1.7.   Everygame 1.8.   SwCPoker1.9.   Nitrobetting 1.10. Blockchain Poker1.11. Alternate Sites

2. Choosing a Room2.1. Withdrawals 2.2. Nearby States?

3. Illinois Poker Facts3.1. Online Poker Legality 3.2. Land-Based Gambling 3.3. State Regulation 3.4. Gambling History 3.5. Famous Poker Players

4. Other Online Gambling4.1. Online Casinos 4.2. Online Sportsbooks

5. Summary 6. FAQ 7. Additional Resources

Online poker is not prohibited in Illinois, so it's legal to play. In our guide, you'll find the best legal real money online poker rooms in Illinois as well as all of the legal information you'll need.

Federal laws, including UIGEA, only apply to those running and managing poker sites in the US and don't apply to offshore poker sites. Crucially, the State of Illinois does not prohibit online poker and has never brought charges against any person for playing cards over the internet. This means everyone is free to play at offshore poker sites. Here are the best ones for your convenience:

Texas

Illinois Land-Based Sportsbooks

There are many excellent retail sportsbooks that you can visit all across Illinois. While there is no longer a need for in-person registration, many of the retail sportsbooks still offer a tremendous in-person experience with restaurants, bars, and the capabilities for watching games.

Name	Location
DraftKings At Casino Queen	200 S Front St, East St Louis, IL 62201
Rivers Casino Des Plaines Sportsbook	3000 S River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018
PointsBet Off-Track Betting Facilities	Crestwood: 13148 Rivercrest Dr, Crestwood, IL 60445 Oakbrook Terrace: 17W648 22nd St, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181Prospect Heights: 1250 River Rd, Prospect Heights, IL 60070
Par-A-Dice (FanDuel Sportsbook)	Riverboat Casino in East Peoria
Grand Victoria (Caesars Sportsbook)	250 S Grove Ave, Elgin, IL 60120
Argosy Casino Alton Sportsbook (Penn National Gaming)	1 Piasa St, Alton, IL 62002
Hollywood Joliet (Penn National Gaming)	777 Hollywood Blvd, Joliet, IL 60436
Hollywood Aurora (Penn National Gaming)	1 W New York St, Aurora, IL 60506
Harrah’s Joliet and Metropolis (Barstool Sportsbook)	151 N Joliet St, Joliet, IL 60432
PointsBet Sportsbook At Hawthorne Racecourse	3501 S. Laramie, Stickney/Cicero, IL 60804

 

Which Games Can we Expect to Launch in Illinois once Online Casinos are Legal? 

Though casinos will add most of the casino games to their closet to attract players to their online casinos, that would take some time.

Online casinos will undoubtedly announce their arrival with a bang! Most of the online casino websites will offer aggressive signup offers. Expect some premium sites to provide a matched bonus of up to $500. That means on your first deposit of up to $500, and you will receive bonus cash in your online account.

Initially, we can expect the following games to be offered for playing with real cash:

• Online Slots: With slot games' success earned in social casinos, online casinos would undoubtedly have slots.

• Lottery: Online lotteries are already legal in Illinois. Interestingly Illinois was the first state in 2012 to legalize online lotteries. The Lottery has a decent fan base in Illinois, making it a must-have pick for online casinos.

• Roulette:" Let your James bond strategy ace the Roulette." It's a perfect game for those willing to take risks, banking on their strategies and game sense.

• Live Dealers: traditionally, live dealers are a pivot for brick and mortar casinos, and it's slightly tough to bring them online, but expect online casinos to bring it on.

Caesars

Caesars Sportsbook in Illinois was one of the very first to launch in the state back in September 2020. Partnered with Harrah's Metropolis, Caesars Metropolis is located in Metropolis, Illinois.

Caesars’ acquisition of William Hill online sports betting in 2020 for $3.7 billion was finalized in August 2021. This massive deal immediately took Caesars to the top of the industry. Caesars is a high-quality sportsbook and had been a steady name in gambling even before the Supreme Court's ruling allowing states to legalize online sports betting in 2018, thanks to its parent company’s portfolio of casinos across the US.

Caesars is constantly running great promotions for new users and has a solid rewards program for current users. Caesars app and website are easy to use, making it one of the best Illinois sportsbooks.

Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel

• Address: 777 Ballys Blvd., Rock Island, IL 61201
• Sportsbook: No
• Poker: Yes

Hard Rock Rockford Casino (temporary site)

• Address: 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford, IL 61107
• Sportsbook: No
• Poker: No

Illinois Sports Teams to Bet On

There are quite a few professional sports teams in Illinois, so anyone in the Prairie State who wants to support their local athletes will have numerous opportunities to do that. Here are just some of the biggest teams that are based in the state, along with the leagues they play in:

• Chicago Bears in the NFL
• Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL
• Chicago Bulls in the NBA
• Chicago Cubs in MLB
• Chicago Fire in MLS
• Chicago White Sox in MLB

The state also has dozens of professional teams that play in smaller leagues such as the American Basketball Association, the American Hockey League, and the American Association of Professional Baseball.

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What will be the tax implications on my gambling winnings? 

Relax, the proposed gambling laws in the state do not provide any special taxation on winnings from gambling. Your winnings from gambling will be included in your income and will be taxed at 4.95%

Retail Sportsbooks in Illinois

Illinois is home to several riverboat casinos, some of which carry retail sportsbooks as well. Furthermore, sports betting in Illinois is allowed near sports venues. All retail sportsbooks and venues are eligible for obtaining a sports betting partner for online. So far, all the land based sports betting locations have done so, but nothing prevents Illinois operators from only having retail sports betting.

Sportsbook	Opening Date
Rivers Casino des Plaines	3/9/2020
DraftKings at Casino Queen, East St. Louis	8/5/2020
Sportsbook at Argosy Casino Alton	3/12/2020
Grand Victoria Casino Elgin	8/6/2020
Hollywood Casino Aurora	8/20/2020
Hollywood Casino Joliet	8/20/2020
Par-A-Dice Casino	9/10/2020
Hawthorne Race Course	9/30/2020

Illinois Sports Betting FAQs

Contributors

Mark Strotman

@markstrot

Mark Strotman is a veteran sports journalist who has covered the Chicago Bulls and the NBA for NBC Sports Chicago for about 8 years. His work has also appeared on ESPN.com, FoxSports.com, The Chicago Tribune, Yahoo Sports and NBC Sports. He covered the NBA Playoffs in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 as well as Team USA Basketball in 2014 and 2016. He has also covered high school football and was nominated for a Midwest Emmy in 2016 for his work on a documentary featuring local Chicago product and NFL prospect Miles Boykin.

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PointsBet

PointsBet is perhaps one of the most underrated Illinois sportsbooks and one of the longest-running, having launched in September 2020. Partnered with Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero, Illinois, PointsBet has a strong reputation among experienced bettors.

The PointsBet app and website are among the industry's fastest and make placing live bets easier than many other sportsbooks. When there is an issue or players have a question, PointsBet offers 24/7 chat help. The chat help is with a real person, not a bot. Typically, a customer service representative is available within five minutes of entering the chat queue.

User reviews:

Checking out what some of your fellow online casino lovers have said about Illinois casinos online is another solid way for you to assess how safe the operator is to use. Try to read a decent amount of these user reviews to get a general consensus on the online casinos you are interested in.

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How Illinois Compares To Other States

When Illinois first launched legal online sports betting, the in-person registration requirement made the Indiana and Iowa laws more appealing. But now, bettors in Illinois can complete registration from home instead of needing to complete registration at a retail casino.

Illinois currently offers some of the best online sportsbooks. Indiana also offers top-tier choices like BetMGM, Unibet, and Caesars Sportsbook. Iowa offers BetMGM, which has an app quality that’s on par with DraftKings.

Illinois currently only allows betting on in-state schools in person. That option will expire in July 2023; however, many are hopeful that the ability to bet on collegiate sports will be extended.

Indiana and Iowa allow betting on all collegiate sports.

In the meantime, Illinois has most of the best online sportsbooks. So unless you’re determined to bet on the University of Illinois or Northwestern football after next year, you have all sports betting action you need in-state.

FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel Sportsbook operates two retail sportsbooks in Illinois. The nation’s most popular mobile sports wagering brand operates in the state in a license partnership with a horse racing venue formerly known as Fairmount Park.

The race track is now known as FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing. Like all seven online sportsbooks in Illinois, online sports wagers make up the vast majority of bets that FanDuel takes in the state.

FanDuel acts as the official sportsbook partner of the Chicago Bulls, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the United Center, the arena that plays home to the Bulls and Blackhawks.

Illinois Casinos & Gambling FAQ

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After a contentious negotiation process, Illinois lawmakers finally pushed legal sports betting through the state legislature as part of a massive capital bill on June 3, 2019. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the bill on June 28. The bill, SB 690, checks in at more than 900 pages, and sports betting, which initially had stood on its own, was wrapped into it to get it passed during an extended legislative session.

Nine months later, on the eve of the COVID-19-related shutdown of professional sports across the U.S., the first legal wager in Illinois was placed on March 9, 2020, at Rivers Casino, owned by Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive. It was a very exciting day when sports betting became legal in Illinois.

The new Illinois sports betting law allows for statewide retail and online sports betting at casinos, racetracks, off-track betting parlors, and venues that house professional sports in Illinois. There are no tribal casinos in the state. State regulators will also issue three stand-alone mobile sports betting licenses, though those could not be issued until at least 18 months after the first “master” license was issued (which occurred in June 2020 – more on this below). Online sports betting apps were authorized on June 18, 2020, when BetRivers went live.

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BetMGM Sportsbook 4.8 Stars / 100.6k Ratings 4.4 Stars / 8.2k Reviews	$1k Risk-Free Bet
FanDuel Sportsbook 4.8 Stars / 611.8k Ratings 4.7 Stars / 96.3k Reviews	$1k No Sweat Bet
Caesars Sportsbook 2.7 Stars / 33.5k Ratings 3.5 Stars / 14.2k Reviews	Up to $1250 First Bet Bonus
BetRivers Sportsbook 4.6 Stars / 532 Ratings 3.6 Stars / 227 Reviews	$500 2nd Chance Bet

Hometown favorite

More subtly, the provision was a gift to Illinois-based Rush Street Gaming, which wanted the a head start on legal sports betting in its home state. Rush Street’s BetRivers sportsbook did accept the first legal online and retail sports bets in Illinois, but their efforts to keep out two of its biggest competitors were not bulletproof.

DraftKings worked around the penalty box in a deal with the Casino Queen riverboat casino. Now “DraftKings at Casino Queen,” the DFS leader opened its first retail and online sportsbook just a few months after BetRivers. FanDuel is also set to enter the market also in 2020 through the Fairmount Race Track near East St. Louis, or perhaps through Boyd Gaming’s Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria.

All Illinois sportsbook operators are subject to the in-person registration requirement, a nod to the brick-and-mortar casinos such as Rush Street’s Rivers Casino, which sought the mandate as a foot-traffic generator for registrants sticking around to gamble at the property, and also a strategic benefit based on geography.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker temporarily lifted the order during the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020 because casinos were closed, thereby preventing any new sign-ups. The order was later reinstated in April 2021.

Online Poker

Poker is one of the oldest and most popular casino games. Gamblers can either play video poker, where their hands go up against the computer, or against other gamblers in a virtual setting (if online poker is legal in the state). There are dozens of different poker variations, though the most popular of the card games are Texas Hold'Em, Omaha, 7-Card Stud, 5-Card Stud and High-Low. Make sure you're aware of the type of poker game you're playing, as the rules change considerably among the different variations. The good news, however, is that the Illinois gambling sites will offer all different types of poker games at a wide range of stakes, so whatever you're looking for will be available in some form.

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• Illinois Online Gambling & Betting

Other forms of legal gambling

Online sports betting launched in Illinois in June 2020. BetRivers Illinois Sportsbook, owned by Rush Street Interactive (which also owns Rivers Des Plaines), became the first sports betting app to launch in the state. Since then, multiple apps have joined the party, including BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet and Caesars.

Alongside online sports betting, Illinois residents and visitors can also bet on horse races through the TVG racing site. Online horse betting is available in the Prairie State through various sites.

Finally, Illinoisans and guests to the state can also play daily fantasy sports if they choose. An Illinois Supreme Court ruling in April 2020 definitively identified DFS as not gambling and has legitimized the notion of playing the game in some capacity in Illinois.

Who we are and what we do

Find out more about what we do, what we regulate and who we are in our about us section.

Illinois sports teams

Home to the third-largest city in the United States in Chicago, as well as being the fifth-largest state overall in terms of population, Illinois is well represented in all major sports. The Cubs (MLB) are no longer baseball’s lovable losers after their 2016 World Series title, and vie for Windy City bragging rights with the White Sox on an annual basis.

The Bears (NFL) continue to be one of the biggest calling cards in the state in terms of overall fandom, and the recent success of the Blackhawks (NHL) – winners of three Stanley Cup titles since 2010 – has lifted the profile of hockey in Illinois. While Michael Jordan may be long gone, the Bulls (NBA) still fill the United Center.

The Fire (MLS) recently moved back into Soldier Field and share space with the Bears, while the Sky (WNBA) play at Wintrust Arena, a 10,387-seat arena in downtown Chicago that opened in 2017. The Red Stars (NWSL) took up residence at SeatGeek Stadium in suburban Bridgeview after the Fire relocated within the city.

In terms of college sports, Illinois law prohibits mobile betting on local college teams, which means no betting online on Northwestern football or Illinois and DePaul basketball. In an interesting twist, legislators passed a bill that allows such wagers at retail casinos only. So you can bet on the Illini at a retail sportsbook but not on your phone. Ok then. Wagers can be placed on college teams or events, not in Illinois, so Notre Dame, among others, are fair game.