| Sports (online) | Live | Jun 18, 2020 | Competitive | In-person registration requirement for new mobile accounts was in place at launch and later repealed (sunset March 2022). Multiple online operators now live (DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics, Caesars, bet365, ESPN BET, etc.). 230 ILCS 45/1 et seq. (Sports Wagering Act) [1] |
| Sports (retail) | Live | Mar 9, 2020 | Competitive | Authorized as part of the 2019 gaming expansion (PA 101-31); retail sportsbooks opened at casinos, racetracks, and later at sports venues (e.g. Wrigley Field, United Center, Guaranteed Rate Field) under "master sports wagering licensee" and venue licenses. 230 ILCS 45/1 et seq. (Sports Wagering Act) [2],[3] |
| Online casino | Not authorized | | | No Illinois statute authorizes online casino games; the Criminal Code's Internet-gambling prohibition (720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12)) applies. No igaming bill has passed the General Assembly as of October 2026.[4] |
| Online poker | Not authorized | | | Not authorized separately from igaming; covered by the same Internet-gambling prohibition in 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12).[4] |
| Commercial casinos | Live | Sep 1, 1991 | Competitive | 17 licensed land-based/riverboat casinos as of 2026, including the new Chicago casino (Bally's Chicago, temporary facility opened Sept. 2023, permanent facility planned 2026) and the Waukegan casino (American Place). The 2019 expansion (PA 101-31) added 6 new licenses including Chicago, Waukegan, Williamson County (Walker's Bluff), Danville, Rockford, and the south suburbs (Wind Creek Chicago Southland), plus allowed slots at the state's horse tracks (racinos). 230 ILCS 10/1 et seq. (Riverboat Gambling Act) [5],[6] |
| Tribal casinos | Not authorized | | | Illinois has no federally recognized tribe with reservation land or a Class II/III gaming compact in the state; the Native American Gaming Compact Act (230 ILCS 35) provides a framework but no compact has been executed. No tribal casinos operate in Illinois.[7] |
| Lottery | Live | Jul 30, 1974 | Monopoly State | Run under a private-manager management agreement (currently Camelot Illinois, selected 2017) per 20 ILCS 1605/9.1; draw games, scratch-offs, and retail sales statewide. 20 ILCS 1605/1 et seq. (Illinois Lottery Law) [8] |
| iLottery | Live | Mar 1, 2012 | Monopoly State | Illinois was the first U.S. state to sell lottery tickets online (pilot authorized by a 2011 IRS/DOJ opinion workaround then codified). Internet sales restricted to transactions initiated and received within Illinois; minimum age 18. Program section is scheduled for repeal 2028 absent renewal. 20 ILCS 1605/7.12 (Internet program) [8] |
| Daily fantasy | Live | Jul 1, 2026 | Competitive | Updated on audit (2026-10-10) against the primary Public Act text (fetched directly from ilga.gov via a Chrome-impersonating client, bypassing the bot block): the Illinois Supreme Court previously held peer-to-peer DFS falls within the Criminal Code's "bona fide contest for the determination of skill" exemption (720 ILCS 5/28-1(b)(2)), and operators ran without a state license. SB 3019 (signed into law as P.A. 104-0468, Senate: Public Act action recorded 2026-06-16 on the ilga.gov bill-status page) adds new 230 ILCS 45/25-120.1 through 25-120.8, creating Illinois' first statutory fantasy-contest licensing framework, with Article 25 (which includes these new Sections) taking effect 2026-07-01 per the Act's own effective-date section, and a 90-day post-rulemaking compliance/temporary-permit window for incumbent operators. Verbatim definition: "'Fantasy contest' means an online contest of skill between 2 or more participants with an entry fee" meeting enumerated skill criteria; "'Fantasy contest' does not include pool sports wagering ... , single-participant contests played against a fantasy contest operator, or contests without an entry fee" (230 ILCS 45/25-120.1). License fees confirmed verbatim: small operator (≤7,500 patrons/365 days) $500 initial (2-yr term)/$300 renewal; large operator (>7,500 patrons) $7,500 initial/$5,000 renewal (25-120.3(h)-(j)). Participant minimum age confirmed verbatim at 21 (25-120.4(b)). Tax confirmed verbatim: "Beginning on July 1, 2026 ... this State shall impose a privilege tax of 15% on the fantasy contest operator licensee's adjusted gross fantasy contest receipts" (25-120.7). This vertical (classic, multi-participant DFS) is squarely covered; see `dfs_pickem` for why single-player pick'em-vs-operator formats are NOT covered by this license. 720 ILCS 5/28-1(b)(2); 230 ILCS 45/25-120.1 to 25-120.8 (new, added by P.A. 104-0468) [9] |
| VGTs / VLTs | Live | Sep 1, 2012 | Competitive | One of the largest VGT markets in the U.S. — terminals in licensed bars, restaurants, truck stops, fraternal/veterans establishments. FY2025 net terminal income exceeded $3.086 billion (up ~5% from FY2024's $2.932 billion). A 2025 bill (SB 2671) to raise the tax from 35% to 45% stalled in committee (last action 5/22/2026) and did not pass. 230 ILCS 40/1 et seq. (Video Gaming Act) [10],[11],[12] |
| Historical horse racing | Not authorized | | | Illinois has not authorized historical horse racing (HHR) terminals; the Illinois Racing Board's site has no HHR program, and HHR is not referenced in the Horse Racing Act or Video Gaming Act.[13] |
| Sweepstakes casinos | Contested | | | No Illinois statute explicitly names "sweepstakes casinos," but the IGB and Attorney General treat dual-currency sweepstakes-casino play as unlicensed online gambling under 720 ILCS 5/28-1. In February 2026 the IGB and AG sent cease-and-desist letters to roughly 65 operators (including VGW's Chumba Casino/Luckyland Slots, Stake.us, Pulsz, Modo, Fliff) ordering them to block Illinois players; most major operators had not complied as of mid-2026. SB 1705 (104th GA), which would explicitly classify sweepstakes-casino devices as illegal gambling devices (Class 4 felony), passed committee review stages in 2025 but had not been enacted as of its last recorded action (4/11/2025, re-referred to Assignments).[14],[15] |
| Prediction markets | Contested | | | The IGB considers CFTC-registered sports/event contracts unlicensed sports wagering under the Sports Wagering Act and Criminal Code. It sent cease-and-desist letters to Crypto.com, Kalshi, and Robinhood (4/1/2025) and to Polymarket (1/27/2026); it also warned IGB licensees in October 2025 that participating in prediction markets "may impact that party's suitability for licensure." The CFTC and federal government have sued Illinois (among other states) arguing the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over these contracts under the Commodity Exchange Act; that litigation was ongoing as of this writing. Updated on audit (2026-10-10), verified against the primary Public Act 104-0468 text (fetched directly from ilga.gov via a Chrome-impersonating client): P.A. 104-0468 adds the verbatim definition "'Exchange wager' includes an agreement, contract, transaction, or swap that is offered, traded, or executed on a prediction market or exchange tied to a sporting contest or sporting event," and amends 230 ILCS 45/25-10's "sports wagering" definition to include "exchange wagering" among its listed forms (while separately excluding "fantasy contests" as defined in new Sec. 25-120.1). So exchange wagers are permissible only through IGB-licensed master sports wagering licensees, taxed at a verbatim-confirmed "1.75% of each exchange wager" for the first 5,000,000 exchange wagers a licensee conducts in a fiscal year, rising to "3.5% of each exchange wager" above that count (see tax_rates), deposited into the Sports Wagering Fund. Article 25 (containing this provision) takes effect 2026-07-01. The amendment does not itself license or authorize existing unregistered platforms (Kalshi, Polymarket, etc.), which remain unlicensed and subject to the cease-and-desist actions above; the IGB's cease-and-desist letters predate this law and nothing in the Act reverses them. Illinois sits in the 7th Circuit, which has not ruled on CEA preemption of state prediction-market/sports-wagering law; compare 3rd Cir. (NJ, 2026-04-06, for Kalshi), 6th Cir. (OH/TN, 2026-09-25, against Kalshi), 9th Cir. (NV, 2026-08-28, against Kalshi).[3],[16],[17],[9] |
| Skill games | Not authorized | | | Illinois does not have a separate unregulated "skill game"/"grey machine" category outside the licensed Video Gaming Act framework; 720 ILCS 5/28-1(b)(13) exempts games of skill/chance with no purchase required to play, but any machine requiring payment to play for a prize is a regulated VGT or an illegal gambling device. SB 1705 (2025) would further tighten the "gambling device" definition to target unlicensed sweepstakes/skill terminals.[4],[14] |
| Card rooms | Not authorized | | | No Illinois statute authorizes stand-alone card rooms outside licensed casinos; general prohibition in 720 ILCS 5/28-1 applies to unlicensed card games for money.[4] |
| Lottery couriers | Not authorized | | | The Internet program (20 ILCS 1605/7.12) restricts online ticket sales to the Department's own program administered by the private manager, not third-party courier apps; Illinois has not licensed courier services such as Jackpocket.[8] |
| Pick'em fantasy | Contested | | | Corrected on audit (2026-10-10) after reading the primary Public Act 104-0468 text directly (an earlier pass had wrongly relied on law-firm-tracker summaries that implied pick'em formats were "expressly permitted" by SB 3019's fantasy-contest definition — they are not). The statute defines "fantasy contest" to explicitly EXCLUDE "single-participant contests played against a fantasy contest operator" (230 ILCS 45/25-120.1) — i.e., the classic pick'em model (PrizePicks, Underdog, drafter.com, parlayplay.io: a player picks over/under props against house-set lines rather than against other entrants). Such formats therefore get NO path to licensure under the new 25-120 series. Section 25-120.3(f) preserves licensure *eligibility* for an applicant that previously ran single-player contests, but does not authorize continuing to offer them after the Act's effective date (2026-07-01) -- they simply fall outside the Act's licensing track altogether. "Sports wagering" under 230 ILCS 45/25-10 separately excludes only "fantasy contests as defined in Section 25-120.1," so a single-player pick'em product that doesn't qualify as a "fantasy contest" is not obviously excluded from the sports-wagering definition either, consistent with the IGB's pre-existing cease-and-desist theory that pick'em operators (Drafters Inc. d/b/a drafter.com, parlayplay.io) are offering unlicensed sports wagering. Status reverted to `contested` (not `operational`); no enacted path authorizes these products as of the new law.[3],[9] |
| Pari-mutuel | Live | | Competitive | Live thoroughbred/harness racing with pari-mutuel wagering at licensed tracks (e.g., Hawthorne Race Course); licensees may retain up to 17% of the pari-mutuel pool per 230 ILCS 5/26(b). The 2019 expansion authorized slot machines/table games (racinos) at racetracks. 230 ILCS 5/1 et seq. (Illinois Horse Racing Act of 1975) [18] |
| Advance deposit wagering | Live | | Competitive | Advance deposit wagering is authorized "subject to rules for advance wagering promulgated by the [Racing] Board" under 230 ILCS 5/26(a); the Racing Board maintains a dedicated ADW program page (operators include TVG/FanDuel Racing, NYRA Bets, Xpressbet). 230 ILCS 5/26 (advance wagering) [18],[13] |
| Charitable gaming | Live | | Monopoly State | Bingo, charitable games nights, raffles/poker runs, and pull-tabs/jar games are each licensed and taxed under their own dedicated Acts for qualified non-profit organizations. 230 ILCS 25/1 et seq. (Bingo License and Tax Act); 230 ILCS 30/1 et seq. (Charitable Games Act); 230 ILCS 15/1 et seq. (Raffles and Poker Runs Act); 230 ILCS 20/1 et seq. (Illinois Pull Tabs and Jar Games Act) [19],[20],[21],[22] |
| Esports betting | Not authorized | | | The Sports Wagering Act's definition of "sports event" is not confirmed to include esports; no IGB guidance locating esports wagering under the Act was found. Treated as unauthorized absent explicit inclusion.[1] |
| Social casino | Not authorized | | | Not separately regulated; free-to-play social casino apps with no cash-value prize redemption generally fall under the 720 ILCS 5/28-1(b)(13) "no purchase required" exemption and operate without a specific license, but there is no dedicated authorizing statute.[4] |