Online Casinos in Illinois – The Ultimate Illinois Gambling Guide for 2024

Decades of industry experience has thought our team one thing: nothing beats a secure and fun online gambling experience. From the games you play to the money you deposit, you want your personal info and cash to be safe.

Throughout our career as a team, we’ve come across rogue sites, first-class online casinos, and everything else in between. We now know what makes an online gambling site a cut above the rest.

Below, you’ll find an overview of our main review criteria. You can get the full scoop on how we evaluate Illinois online casinos on our review process page.

Safety and Security Features

Due to current Illinois gambling laws, we don’t feature sites that are licensed within state borders. However, that doesn’t mean we’ll promote unlicensed casinos. Our Illinois online gambling sites hold a valid license from an established casino authority. These include the Malta Gaming Authority and Curacao eGaming. These licensed sites have strict security measures in place to protect you from fraudsters.

Fair Casino Bonuses

A genuine casino bonus is the icing on top of a great gambling experience. We expect the best Illinois online casinos to offer players a decent-sized welcome bonus package. This way, you’ll get to increase the value of your deposit and play more. We also look out for no deposit bonuses, free spins, and cashback. Besides variety, we make sure the fine print of each bonus is fair and clear.

Variety of Casino Games

When you play at an Illinois casino online, you should be spoiled for choice when it comes to games. We expect the top gambling sites to stock online slots from renown providers, like RTG and Rival Gaming. This includes slots with progressive jackpots, as well as classic slots. The best online casinos will also offer table games, online poker, and live dealer games.

Payment Methods Selection

The leading online casinos in Illinois will let you deposit and withdraw cash with ease. No gambling site is complete without a decent selection of payment options. These include credit cards like Visa and AmEx, and e-wallets such as Skrill and Neteller. We also give extra points to casinos that accept cryptocurrencies and prepaid cards. Reliable banking options will ensure you can gamble online in Illinois, hassle free.

Customer Support Options

Issues can crop up even at the best Illinois online casinos in Illinois. For this reason, we test the contact options of each gambling site before listing them here. We take note of how professional the agents are and response times. Only casinos with quick and efficient customer service will make the cut. Online casinos with multiple contact options get extra points from us. These include live chat, telephone, and email.

Device Optimization

Mobile casinos are skyrocketing in popularity. As a result, we expect online Illinois casinos to be compatible with all devices, especially smartphones. You should enjoy online casino games on any device, be it an Android phone, iPhone, or tablet. We always like to see legal online casinos offering apps to their members. A quality casino app shows that the site in question cares about mobile players.

USA gambling laws can be confusing on both the federal and state levels. So, players from the Prairie State might be wondering if online gambling is legal in Illinois. 

The short answer is yes. You’ll find legal online gambling options in Illinois. These include:

• Lottery: The Illinois Lottery offers fast play lottery on the web. You can also purchase your lottery tickets online or use the Illinois lottery app to check drawing results

• Sports betting: Online sports betting was legalized throughout the state thanks to the Illinois Gambling Act of 2019.  There are currently seven regulated sportsbooks in Illinois.

• Horse racing: You can legally bet on horses in Illinois. You can do this at the track or on legal online racebooks. Horse betting apps are available to IL residents, too.

When it comes to online gambling in the USA, few states address casino sites directly in their laws. Illinois is one of the few states that does so. Article 28 of the Illinois gambling code states that it is illegal for residents to operate unlicensed online casinos within the state. However, there are no specific laws banning Illinoisans from playing at gambling sites that are based overseas. For this reason, online casino gambling is unregulated within the state. While intrastate online gambling is not allowed, Illinoisans can still play for real at offshore sites. Other options include social and sweepstakes casinos, but these sites don’t real money games.

Online casino Illinois laws are yet to be established so that the internet gambling industry can be further regulated. However, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have tons of other legal gambling options in Illinois. We give you an overview of your top choices if you feel like wagering in the Land of Lincoln:

Commercial Casinos 

There are 11 riverboat casinos spread throughout the state. Popular establishments include Grand Victoria Casino, Harrah’s Casino Joliet, and Rivers Casino. The largest casino is yet to come, with Bally planning to open the Chicago casino by 2025. The 2019 gambling expansion also allows for six more casinos. Many casinos in Illinois boast an impressive number of games. Real money slots, blackjack, and card games are all available. 

Retail Sports Betting 

On top of enjoying legal online sports betting, Illinoisans can place their bets at 11 retail sportsbooks. Besides betting on the game in person, these retail options offer food and beverage services. Illinois casinos, sports stadiums, and racetracks can have sportsbooks. As a result, retail Illinois sports betting is widely available. In 2023, DraftKings Sportsbooks should be at Wrigley Field. 

Poker Rooms

You’ll find 14 live poker rooms in Illinois. Four of these are at commercial casinos, including Rivers Casino and Hollywood Casino, Aurora. Others are located on the commercial riverboats, while others operate as charitable gaming venues. The Internet Gaming Act would legalize online poker in Illinois. If that legislature passes, Global poker would be the only legal poker option.

State Lottery

Established in 1974, the Illinois Lottery now sells tickets for Mega Millions and Power Ball. It providers standard and multi-state games, as well as raffles and instant games. Tickets can be purchased retail or online. Themed instant-play games, like Deal or No Deal, are available, and promotions are offered to returning customers. The Illinois Lottery also funds many charitable organizations that support veterans and children.

Horse Racing

You can wager on horses via two tracks, OTB sites or through mobile apps. The Prairie State is home to harness, quarter horse, and thorough bred racing. The two live racetracks are FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing, and Hawthorne Racecourse. Both have betting windows on-site. Online racebooks such as Club Hawthorne and TwinSpires also accept wagers from Illinoisans.

Playing casino games is a popular pastime in Illinois. The top online casinos now offer your favorite games in a virtual environment. Check out which 

Online slots

Online slot machines are among the most popular games at Illinois casino sites. You’ll often find classic slots with three reels and modern video slots with five. Slots with progressive jackpots are commonplace too. Mega Moolah, Hall of God, and Arabian Nights are some of the highest-paying slot games out there, dishing out impressive prizes if luck is on your side.

Blackjack

Blackjack is loved around the world, including in the USA. A mix between skill and luck, this casino game has simple rules and favorable odds. With basic blackjack strategy, you can reduce the house edge to 0.5%. We recommend Atlantic City Blackjack to Illinoisans, a game with eight decks and player-friendly rules.

Roulette

Nothing quite beats the thrills of watching where the ball will land on the roulette wheel. Roulette is a staple at the best Illinois online casinos. You’ll often find American, European, and French roulette in the lobby. We love the European variation, since it comes with a lower house edge when compared to its American counterpart.

Poker Games

Your poker options are endless at online casinos. You can enjoy classics like Texas Hold’em and Three Card Poker. Other games include Pai Gow Poker and Caribbean Stud Poker. These games ae for the more seasoned player, so we advise you to brush up on their rules first. More beginner-friendly games include video poker, like Jacks or Better.

Live Casino Games 

Live dealer games bring an authentic casino experience right into your home. Thanks to a live video feed, you can play against an actual dealer in real time. The best live dealer casino games include live blackjack, live roulette, and live baccarat. Gamblers love these games as they allow you to speak with other players via a live chat. The dealers will also converse with you and other players on camera. 

Illinois gambling sites don’t fall short when it comes to casino bonuses. These promotions can help boost your bankroll and add value to your online casino account. Here, we’ll discuss the most popular casino bonuses you’ll find at casinos online in Illinois.

Welcome Bonus: This is the first bonus you’ll get when you join an Illinois online casino. You’ll usually get the casino welcome offer when you make a deposit. Your deposit will be matched up to a certain percentage, doubling the initial amount or more. 

No Deposit Bonus: The name is a dead giveaway as to why this is the most sought-after casino bonuses online. The casino will give you free credit or extra spins on a slot machine, without needing your deposit. You can test the Illinois casino.

Free Spins: Free spins bonuses are extra spins on the house. They usually require no deposit from your end. Most free spins bonuses are limited to just one game or two, depending on the promo T&CS.

Cashback: With cashback bonuses, you’ll get a percentage of your losses back. This loss may be from a specific deposit or what you incurred over a period of time. Cashback deals tend to come as fixed percentages. For example, the casino will give you 30% back on every $200 you lose. This casino bonus is typically offered on a weekly basis.

Reload Bonus: Like sign up bonuses, reload deals match your deposit up to a specific percentage. Reload bonuses are offered to regular members who keep depositing to the casino site. The percentage, however, is generally lower than 100%.

Crypto Bonus: You’ll often find cryptocurrency bonuses at Bitcoin online casinos. These bonuses are reserved for gamblers who play with virtual currencies, including BTC, ETH, and LTC. They’re not as common as the other bonuses discussed above, but they’re picking up the pace. 

Just like neighbouring Michigan’s online gambling approach, experts believe Illinois could legalize internet casinos soon. This would raise an estimated $237.7 million a year in new tax revenue for the state. An East Coast Gaming Conference panel of executives started this discussion in late 2022. They suggested Illinois could be the seventh state to legalize online casinos.

The executives believe Illinois has the right structure and systems in place to regulate online casinos. This is especially true after sports betting’s growth skyrocketed from 2019 onwards. 

State lawmakers proposed legislation in 2021-2022 session to regulate online gambling in Illinois. They hope to replicate the $1 billion-dollar windfall experienced from taxing sports betting. While online casino legislation is indeed pending, one senator believes a passage in 2022 isn’t likely. 

However, the early days of 2023 could see real money casino games and online poker come to the Land of Lincoln. In the meantime, residents can opt for local online sportsbooks or top gambling sites based overseas.