Illinois is in the process of changing the laws surrounding gambling in the state, both on and offline.
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Share 'Casinos in Illinois' Test your luck at casinos in Illinois. Play the tables and slot machines at one of our rivers boats, or stay the night in one of our many hotel and casinos throughout the state.
While online casinos are still deemed illegal in the state, online sportsbooks have just started operating on mobile and desktop devices. If online sports betting does well for the state'seconomy, there is huge potential to expand online gambling in IL.
There are different ways you can gamble in the state offline, including racetracks and river casino boats.
The new bill that was introduced in 2019 permitted land-based casinos to start operating in specific areas in IL, however, none have been able to open their doors just yet. This is due to thedelay caused by the Illinois Gaming Board who has yet to give a response to the riverboats that have applied for the license.
The vetting process has now taken a year, with the IGB expected to make a decision in the next few weeks. There are currently nine casino applicants.
Read more about the gambling laws in IL, the current status of land-based casinos, and when you can expect to be playing at an IL online casino, in our guide below.
Illinois Online Casinos
Although Illinois has a long tradition with some great riverboat casinos and a long history with gambling, it has not legalized online casinos just yet. There have been discussions oflegalizing online casinos, but it has not yet been approved by the senate.
A bill that was introduced in 2019 did legalize online sports betting and saw FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetRivers launch online sportsbooks in the state. It also allowed riverboat casinosto start applying for licenses to operate on land. But we'll get into that later.
For now, if you want to play at an online casino, you'll need to take a trip up to nearby Michigan.
But, you can still register with a legal online casino while you're in Illinois. That means you can get the casino's bonus offers or deposit, and then play whenever you're in stateswhere it's legal.
Land-Based Casinos in Illinois
Unlike Mississippi casinos, not all of the casinos in Illinois are open 24 hours, and Illinois casino laws limit the number of gaming licenses to 10. Up until2019, all casinos in IL had to operate as a riverboat casino.
Now, riverboat casinos are in the process of purchasing licenses to be able to operate on land.
There are five casinos in Illinois near Chicago, two casinos towards the center of the state, and three casinos in southern Illinois.
See our Chicago casinos section for more details on the five properties, as well as details on some casinos in Indiana that are within a short drive of Chicago.
All casinos in Illinois are non-smoking and, unless otherwise noted, all offer slots, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, and three-card poker.
Some Illinois casinos also offer: let it ride, baccarat, mini-baccarat, poker, Ultimate Texas hold 'em, Caribbean stud poker, Mississippi stud, pai gow poker, and four card poker.
The payback percentages on electronic gaming machines at all Illinois casinos are released as a matter of public record. Just click here to see a list of slot machine payback statistics for all Illinois casinos.
Types of Casinos in Illinois
There are two types of casino in IL; riverboats and pari-mutuel. While riverboat casinos are in the middle of a lengthy process trying to obtain a license to operate as a land-basedcasino, pari-mutuel betting has started to fade into the background.
There have been proposals on bringing slot games into the racetracks, however, have continuously been turned down.
Riverboat Casinos
All of the casinos in Illinois are riverboat casinos. Illinois was the second state to legalize riverboat gambling and the boats began operating in September 1991 with the launching of thefirst boat: the Alton Belle.
Seven of the riverboat casinos in Illinois are either on boats or on docked barges. These Illinois casinos remain dockside and do not cruise. The other three casinos: Rivers in DesPlaines, Jumer's in Rock Island, and the Casino Queen in East. St. Louis, are all land-based casinos.
Interestingly, however, they all qualify as being riverboat casinos because they are all built over a shallow pit filled with a few inches of water.
Pari-mutuel Casinos
Horse racing has been extremely popular in IL, especially in the 1930s to 80s. Unfortunately, the industry doesn't have nearly as close to as big of a turnout at the tracks today.
Still, there are three major horse tracks in Illinois:
- Fairmount Park - Collinsville
- Arlington Park - Arlington Heights
- Hawthorne Race Course - Cicero
All three tracks offer thoroughbred racing and stream every race to viewers across the United States.
Dog racing is illegal in the state of Illinois.
List of Land-Based Casinos in Illinois
Ameristar East Chicago
- 777 Aldis Ave, East Chicago, IN 46312
- 1 (219) 378-3000
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Spanish 21, Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud, Poker
Argosy Casino Alton
- 1 Piasa St, Alton, IL 62002
- 1 (618) 474-7500
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold 'em
Blue Chip Casino & Hotel
- 777 Blue Chip Dr, Michigan City, IN 46360
- 1 (219) 879-7711
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three Card Poker, Mississippi Stud, Ultimate Texas Hold 'em, Poker
Biggest Casino In Illinois
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Casino Queen
- 200 S Front St, East St Louis, IL 62201
- 1 (618) 874-5000
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em
Grand Victoria Casino Elgin
- 250 S Grove Ave, Elgin, IL 60120
- 1 (847) 468-7000
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Poker
Harrah's Joliet
- 151 N Joliet St, Joliet, IL 60432
- 1 (815) 740-7800
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, Mississippi Stud, Poker
Harrah's Metropolis
- 100 E Front St, Metropolis, IL 62960
- 1 (618) 524-2628
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud
Hollywood Casino Aurora
- 1 W New York St, Aurora, IL 60506
- 1 (630) 801-7000
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Mississippi Stud, Poker
Hollywood Casino Joliet
- 777 Hollywood Blvd, Joliet, IL 60436
- 1 (815) 744-9400
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Mississippi Stud
Horseshoe Casino Hammond
- 777 Casino Center Dr, Hammond, IN 46320
- 1 (219) 473-7000
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Three Card Poker, Let it Ride, Poker, Big Six Wheel, Pai Gow, Baccarat, Mississippis Stud
Jumer's Casino & Hotel
- 777 Jumer Dr, Rock Island, IL 61201, United States
- 1 (309) 756-4600
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Mississippi Stud, Poker
Majestic Star Casino & Hotel
- 1 Buffington Harbor Dr, Gary, IN 46406
- 1 (219) 977-7777
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Spanish 21, Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Big 6 Wheel, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Let It Ride, Poker,Mississippi Stud
Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino
- 21 Blackjack Blvd, East Peoria, IL 61611
- 1 (309) 698-7711
- Games Offered: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Mini-Baccarat, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three-Card Poker, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud, Poker, Big Six Wheel
Rivers Casino - Des Plaines
Gambling Casinos In Illinois
- 3000 S River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018
- 1 (847) 795-0777
- Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Mini-Baccarat, Baccarat, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three Card Poker, Pai Gow Poker, Spanish 21, Texas Hold'em Bonus, Mississippi Stud
Illinois Land-Based Casinos Map
Map
-->Like many other states in the Midwest, the casino landscape of Illinois is anything but straightforward. While, historically, Chicago and the surrounding areas have been known as hotbeds for gambling, that much isn’t really true anymore. In fact, as far as brick and mortar gambling is concerned, it is found few and far between in Illinois. The online casinos scene is not so barren, but is definitely a bit different than how it is in states like Nevada where most forms of gambling are legalized and regulated to take place online.
Still, with that being said, Illinois in recent years has taken a look at what states surrounding them have been doing and are looking at ways in which they can catch up. For this reason and many others, there is a strong feeling that Illinois is the next state to have established a legalized casino system that exists online. Until that happens, however, the fact remains that casino play in Illinois can best be described as fragmented.
What Are The Best Illinois Real Money Gambling Sites?
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Is Online Gambling Legal in Illinois?
Online gambling establishments have existed in Illinois for quite some time now, but they haven’t existed in the way you might think they have. In fact, most bets that are being placed online are on horse races.
Sites accepting horse bets exist, but other than that there is no real regulated system for online casino play in Illinois. This may seem difficult to believe, because the framework for legalized online casino play already exists. Add this to the fact that few other Midwestern states have anything close to a pre-existent online network for gambling, and it is flat-out puzzling that Illinois is not pushing stronger to legalize all types of online casino play.
With that being said, there are plenty of online casinos operating within the state offering all sorts of games for Illinois citizens to take advantage of.
In fact, with the way in which the brick and mortar casino scene is set up in Illinois, it should come as no surprise that people often opt to gamble online as opposed to any brick and mortar establishments. There is hope that, sometime in the future, Illinois lawmakers will wise up and create a system of play that is regulated and legalized much like the horse betting system is now.
In the meantime, however, you can rest-assured knowing that the online casino games currently being offered in the state are more than good enough to satisfy even the most demanding of gambling needs. Most of the online casinos even offer mobile play as to allow you the opportunity to gamble and play your favorite real money casino games no matter where in the state you are. So long as your smartphone or tablet is able to access the internet, most every online casino available to Illinois citizens is able to be played.
Legal Status of Brick and Mortar Casinos — Illinois
If you turn the clocks back to the 1970s, you would be placing yourself right in the midst of a Mayoral move to establish waterfront casinos in Chicago. At the time, the casinos’ tax revenues would be used to fund snow removal for the city among many other things. Unfortunately, these plans were shot down quickly and brick and mortar casinos had to be held off for a few more decades. Even in the aftermath of this move being shot down, casino advocates continued to push for gambling in the Windy City. Time after time, however, these efforts were for naught because the conservative state refused to bend.
In the 1990s, when Iowa was pushing to make gambling more accessible, Illinois decided to follow suit and offer up 10 riverboat gambling licenses. These riverboat establishments have all the amenities of a traditional casino, which leaves some opportunity for live gambling in Illinois. Of course, if you do not live near any major rivers it becomes extremely difficult to play any casino games whatsoever. There also exists some horse racing tracks in the state, but the types of gambling you will find at these establishments does not even compare to that of the riverboat casinos.
To this day there are active efforts aimed at expanding the brick and mortar gambling in Illinois, but as it has been in the past these efforts have been met with little success and a lot of opposition. Many feel as though the illegal gambling rings of the early 20th century have left a permanently sour taste in the mouths of Chicagoans, and that is the main reason why legalized brick and mortar sites will never come to be. With all of this being said, however, the state of Illinois is continually running up its debt, and we may soon reach a point where they have no choice but to legalize brick and mortar casinos in order to reap the tax benefits that come along with it.
Illinois Online Casinos & Gambling FAQ
- Abbreviation: IL
- State Motto: State sovereignty, national union.
- Capital City: Springfield
- Population Estimate: 12.8 million (6th)
- Website: http://www.illinois.gov/
If there is no regulated system, is playing online in Illinois safe?
Yes. Despite there being no legalized and regulated online casino system in Illinois, there are plenty of reputable online establishments catering to the citizens of the state. Of course, it is necessary that you put in some research before committing to any single online casino, but there are hundreds of sites from which to choose.
Can I play live casinos games online?
More and more frequently we are seeing online casinos make the decision to offer live casino games online. For those unaware, live casino games take your favorite casino game and allow it to be run by a live, filmed, interactive dealer. Rather than play with some computer program, people playing online from home can now interact with a real, live dealer.
Are there bonuses being offered?
Yes. In an effort to draw in as many new players as possible, most sites offer attractive bonuses aimed at boosting the monetary value of your initial deposit. For this reason, new players have a lot of attractive offers from which they can choose in order to get started playing with the most money possible.
Casinos Near Me Map
Open Casinos Near Me
Is sports betting allowed?
For some reason, there is a stigma surrounding sports betting in the United States. Players that will play as many online casino games that exist will become petrified when they even think about betting on sports. Though this fear is definitely a true and real one, it is not one that should be bought into. The fact of the matter is that you can bet on sports as an Illinois resident.
Are more brick and mortar casinos on the horizon?
Illinois Casinos List
As of now, there is very little talk surrounding the establishment of more brick and mortar casinos. There is a feeling that this might change as other states push for more legalized gaming, but for now Illinois government seems content with riverboat gambling and horse betting.