Most popular forms of regulated gambling are permitted under Illinois law. In addition to the state lottery and the multiple casinos spread across the state, there is also legal pari-mutuel wagering in Illinois and a wide slate of charitable gambling formats. While Illinois is known for their online gambling law – 720 ILCS 5/28-1, does make transmitting sports-related information online a legal offence, it does not mention if it has the range to affect offshore casinos and bookies. Moreover, it does not specify the act of placing wagers.
US culture has a fascination with gambling in all shapes and sizes. Whether a resident is most interested in betting on sports, playing poker or online casinos, there is a fascination with gambling from the comfort of home that runs deep. Unfortunately, would-be players in Illinois opt not to participate. They do not do so from a lack of interest, but rather through a belief that any form of online gambling could land them in jail if state law enforcement agencies were to catch them in the act.
Luckily, this is not a correct understanding of the law as it applies to Illinois residents. The following page will break down all the most popular aspects of gambling through the eyes of the laws that govern them. We will not only take an intimate look at the policies governing a gambling hobby, but some of the best legal online gambling sites for Illinois residents to get started with.
Because there are sanctioned casinos in the state of Illinois, there are not heavy penalties or legal prosecution associated with participation in slot machines or other traditional forms of casino games in Illinois. This means that while players cannot get in trouble for playing casino games online, federal laws like the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) ban use of the internet to establish, run or maintain a casino site. This means that honest residents are forced to use offshore websites to fulfill their gambling needs.
As it turns out, the state laws of Illinois echo the federal sentiment almost perfectly. Although Illinois legislation specifically mentions the internet in regards to gambling, it is only seen as a criminal act to operate a gambling website, not use one. This means that just so long as residents of the state stick to the legal online casinos located offshore indexed on this site, they will be in compliance of their state laws and risk no legal prosecution.
When it comes to casinos in Illinois, while it's true that there are a couple sanctioned, land-based options scattered throughout the state, the overwhelming majority of Illinois players who play casino games for money use the internet. This is due in part to convenience, but also the high quality of product available through legal online casinos that accept Illinois players
Go To: Legal Online Casinos For Illinois Residents
Sports betting is the most regulated form of gambling in the United States, but bettors are still free to take part so long as they find a reliable Illinois sports betting site. The Federal Wire Act of 1961 made it impossible for bookmakers to move information regarding sports betting across state lines using a wire service. (In the early 2000's, the Supreme Court would rule that this includes the internet.) The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) passed in 1992 took that act a step further and made it impossible to facilitate sports betting in the United States at all. There were four states exempt from this act, but unfortunately, Illinois was not one. Thankfully, all of these policies only target the bookmakers, and specifically exempt players. This means that it is legal for Illinois residents to participate in sports betting just so long as they do not take part in its facilitation.
Today, Illinois remains one of the few US states that provide regulated options to gamble online including participation of the state lottery and legal betting on horse racing online, providing it is permitted by the Illinois Racing Board. What about online poker, though? Thanks to the 2019 Illinois Gambling Act, all residents of legal age can now place a wager in both land-based and online sportsbooks. This means that you need to be at least 21-years old in order to place a bet in Illinois.
The state laws governing Illinois are very similar. Bettors in the state never face criminal charges whereas the facilitation of betting in the state of Illinois is a very serious crime. Again, just so long as a resident sticks only to betting online through offshore, legal gambling in Illinois will be open to residents not operating their own, illicit sportsbook online or land based, they will avoid the ire of the law.
It's a good thing that many online sportsbooks are open to Illinois residents, because thanks to the PASPA, it's impossible for the state to sanction any sports betting facilities. Unless this federal policy is overturned, it's unrealistic to expect and legal sports betting facilities to open up shop in Illinois, even in the distant future.
Go To: Legal Sports Betting Sites For Illinois Bettors
Just like with casino games, the UIGEA heavily influences the facilitation of online poker. This policy makes it all but impossible for a poker website to set up shop in the United States and accept players from Illinois. Luckily, also as with casino games, it does not violate the UIGEA to participate in online poker just so long as the player does not operate an online poker room.
While federal policies leave the door open for the ever-popular game of online poker, what do state laws say on the subject? Just as with other forms of gambling, poker laws as laid out by the state of Illinois fall closely in line with what the federal laws enforce. Playing online poker is not tried, prosecuted, or even cited in the state. In fact, in the entire history of arrests in the state of Illinois, never once has a player been placed under arrest for merely participating in online poker. More important than the actual letter of the law is the implied function. The target of anti-gambling legislation is, was, and has always been large, organized crime syndicates, not individuals. Therefore, players are generally free to participate in online poker to their heart's content.
In addition to the legal online poker rooms that accept Illinois residents listed on this site, Illinois has a couple brick and mortar, sanctioned poker rooms available for their residents to play in. Although they offer a full array of poker games and are usually open generous hours, their remote and inconvenient locations lead to online poker being the most popular means of playing the game within state lines.
Go To: Legal Poker Sites For Illinois Players
With all the talk of legality and criminal action, it can be easy to forget one thing – gambling is supposed to be fun. The legal gambling sites for Illinois residents on this page can help bring that emphasis back where it belongs since their members do not need to spend any time worrying about their legality and safety. Since these are legal, offshore businesses that have been in operation for well over a decade, there is never a need to worry about their financial security. Punta cana gambling age comparison. These sites invest in the best software that money can buy, and they put the biggest emphasis in their business model in protecting your money. They worry so that you don't have to; you just have to worry about making it grow!
After over 20 years of service to Illinois residents, the artist formerly known as BoDog moved their operation to Canada, but kept up the same high level of service and product quality that their users long grew accustomed to. Over the years, the Bovada name has become synonymous with internet gambling. They pride themselves on providing the very best online casino, online poker room, and online sportsbook for Illinois residents. You've spent all this time learning how you can legally gamble online, make sure to take advantage of it with one of the strongest websites available on the web!
The very best part about a membership with Bovada is making use of their excellent financial system. Never before has moving money in and out of your gambling account been so effortless, or so carefree. This legal gambling site for Illinois players even goes so far as to cover all fees associated with one payout a month. That's twelve times a year you can request a check of your winnings absolutely free. With a new account at Bovada, you keep more of your money where it belongs – in your account, where it can get more opportunities to grow.
Like a lighthouse glimmering on the horizon of a pitch-black ocean, you can see the casino lights of Las Vegas luring you to gamble as you fly into McCarran International Airport. Similarly, the newly rejuvenized Atlantic City, fueled with the lifeblood of sports betting, has all its gaming options in a centralized location.
But what if you looked at gambling in an entire state? Would Nevada and New Jersey still be the gold standards?
One could argue Mississippi, with its 26 casinos, can be part of the conversation. But when you dive into how much gambling is concentrated in one state, the answer is relatively simple.
Known more for its political corruption, Michael Jordan, and deep-dish pizza (one of the finest tourist traps in America), Illinois is not a state the general audience associates with gambling. The state does indeed have an abundance of gambling options, but the lack of a centralized hub will never give it the appeal of Las Vegas or Atlantic City.
But when you analyze betting in Illinois as a whole, that is an entirely different equation.
In a world where the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) has been repealed, online poker is gaining traction, and putting lottery games online are all slowly becoming the norm, Illinois has gradually positioned itself to become the next gambling mecca.
A well-oiled gambling machine exists in the Midwest
History has not been kind to the Land of Lincoln when it comes to gambling. The state has tried and failed to pass a gambling expansion bill for years. But a few months ago, with the help of newly elected governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, lawmakers were able to pass S 690, a bill filled with every form of legal gaming imaginable.
Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at The University of Illinois Springfield said, the big-ticket item for the state will be the licenses to operate sports betting.
'The governor is counting on the $10 million that each license will cost,' Redfield said in an interview with Play USA.
Pritzker is counting on $200 million in licensing fees from legalized sports betting to close a $3.2 billion budget gap, a gap that continues to grow larger and larger by the day.
'In the past, this bill would have been too big,' Redfield said. 'But looking at the need for pensions, social services, and capital spending, this becomes part of the puzzle.'
But the puzzle in IL is more prominent than just sports betting.
The state of gaming in Illinois
For a frame of reference, here is the current level of gambling in the state:
- Video gaming terminals (VGT) 32,561
- VGT establishments 7,079 (5 terminals each)
- 10 casinos
- 1,200 gaming positions per casino
- 3 racetracks
- State lottery
- Online lottery games
- Daily fantasy sports
- *Note there is no gambling in Chicago
Here is the amount of gaming that will be integrated into IL, once the gambling expansion bill is fully realized.
- VGT establishments +1 extra machine
- 5 new casinos
- 2,000 gaming positions per casino
- 1 Chicago mega-casino
- 4,000 gaming positions for Chicago casino
- 11,200 total new gaming positions
- 1 new racetrack
- Sports betting
- 16 retail sportsbooks
- 3 online sportsbooks
- 2,500 sports betting lottery kiosks (year one)
- 2,500 sports betting lottery kiosks (year two)
- The ability for horse tracks to have up to 1,200 casino games (slots and table games)
Once every casino is built, every VGT machine is turned on, and every sportsbook is live, the amount of available gambling in Illinois will dwarf that of any state in the US.
Illinois is full of potential, but never Las Vegas
Las Vegas is known for having every vice imaginable. But that isn't the only reason gambling companies continue to call it home.
'Illinois has a large concentration of gaming if you take into account limited gaming locations. But Illinois may not ever see the level of investment that we see in Las Vegas because of its substantial gaming tax rate,' said Jennifer Roberts, associate director of the UNLV International Center for Gaming Regulation.
Roberts, an adjunct professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law, said Nevada is very business-friendly with its tax structure, and because of this, an expansion of gambling in IL poses no threat.
'Where we may see an impact is if gaming companies traditionally headquartered in Nevada decide to move their corporate offices outside the state,' Roberts said.
With how poorly managed the tax structure in IL currently is, Nevada will not be losing any business to the Midwest, and the casino industry knows that.
In May, Moody's Investments Servicesreleased a report that said IL had the lowest investment rating in the country.
In a statement, Moody's vice president, Emily Raimes, had this to say:
'While most states have healthy reserves and inherently strong fiscal flexibility, Illinois and New Jersey both have low levels of reserves relative to the potential revenue decline in our recession scenario. In addition, they both show weakness in their pension risk scores.'
Illinois has a staggering $133.5 billion in unfunded state pension liabilities. The hope is that gambling mixed with Pritzker's $41.5 billion capital plan over the next six years will help bring some relief to the state.
Illinois gambling opposition and tax rates
As thorough as the expansion plans are, there is always opposition. The Illinois Casino Gaming Association (ILCGA) opposed the bill from the start. Tom Swoik, executive director of ILCGA, told ProPublica-Illinois, the gambling bill would not benefit the casino industry.
'This state has not been business-friendly to casinos from the beginning, and this bill doesn't help that,' Swoik said.
Unlike other states, IL has draped the gaming industry in taxes ever since riverboat gambling appeared in the 1990s.
Currently, casinos are taxed 15 percent AGR up to or including $25 million, according to the Illinois Gaming Control Board (ILGCB). Video gaming is taxed at 30 percent with a four percent increase slated for 2020.
Is Online Gambling Legal In Illinois
Once it arrives, sports betting will be taxed at 15 percent but the real kicker is the massive 72 percent tax rate for a Chicago casino.
Despite the lopsided tax structure, Cory Aronovitz, a gaming attorney with Casino Law Group, told Play USA, Illinois had positioned itself to lead in two very critical categories.
'The way Illinois approached the gambling bill will put it in a position to maximize revenues, as well as, lead in the integrity aspect of regulation,' Aronovitz said.
According to figures from the ILGCB, the state collected $39,618,042 in gambling taxes in August, while municipalities divided up $7,074,648–all from VGTs.
In August, the state's 10 casinos generated $117,895,319 in gross gaming revenue. Of that, $38,057,318 went to the state and $6,841,296 to local municipalities.
The numbers appear promising even without sports betting, but are they enough to pull the state out of the financial abyss it calls home and bring new business to the Midwest?
Can Illinois expect gambling help in the immediate future?
Steve Brubaker, a longtime gambling lobbyist in IL, said the top two earners in the state are VGT companies followed by Rivers Casino.
In August, Rivers generated $37,598,367 in gross gaming revenue, with the next closest being the Grand Victoria in Elgin, IL, which collected $14,484,111.
But according to Brubaker, don't expect the floodgates to burst wide open with gambling and tax dollars.
'Those who think we are going to have all this gaming in the first year or two haven't been paying attention to the history of Illinois,' Brubaker said.
However, Aronovitz speculates the state gaming board might move rather quickly with some aspects of the gaming bill. In terms of VGT's, Aronovits fully expects a rollout of new gaming machines to occur later this fall.
Is Online Gambling Legal In Illinois Unemployment
For a frame of reference, here is the current level of gambling in the state:
- Video gaming terminals (VGT) 32,561
- VGT establishments 7,079 (5 terminals each)
- 10 casinos
- 1,200 gaming positions per casino
- 3 racetracks
- State lottery
- Online lottery games
- Daily fantasy sports
- *Note there is no gambling in Chicago
Here is the amount of gaming that will be integrated into IL, once the gambling expansion bill is fully realized.
- VGT establishments +1 extra machine
- 5 new casinos
- 2,000 gaming positions per casino
- 1 Chicago mega-casino
- 4,000 gaming positions for Chicago casino
- 11,200 total new gaming positions
- 1 new racetrack
- Sports betting
- 16 retail sportsbooks
- 3 online sportsbooks
- 2,500 sports betting lottery kiosks (year one)
- 2,500 sports betting lottery kiosks (year two)
- The ability for horse tracks to have up to 1,200 casino games (slots and table games)
Once every casino is built, every VGT machine is turned on, and every sportsbook is live, the amount of available gambling in Illinois will dwarf that of any state in the US.
Illinois is full of potential, but never Las Vegas
Las Vegas is known for having every vice imaginable. But that isn't the only reason gambling companies continue to call it home.
'Illinois has a large concentration of gaming if you take into account limited gaming locations. But Illinois may not ever see the level of investment that we see in Las Vegas because of its substantial gaming tax rate,' said Jennifer Roberts, associate director of the UNLV International Center for Gaming Regulation.
Roberts, an adjunct professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law, said Nevada is very business-friendly with its tax structure, and because of this, an expansion of gambling in IL poses no threat.
'Where we may see an impact is if gaming companies traditionally headquartered in Nevada decide to move their corporate offices outside the state,' Roberts said.
With how poorly managed the tax structure in IL currently is, Nevada will not be losing any business to the Midwest, and the casino industry knows that.
In May, Moody's Investments Servicesreleased a report that said IL had the lowest investment rating in the country.
In a statement, Moody's vice president, Emily Raimes, had this to say:
'While most states have healthy reserves and inherently strong fiscal flexibility, Illinois and New Jersey both have low levels of reserves relative to the potential revenue decline in our recession scenario. In addition, they both show weakness in their pension risk scores.'
Illinois has a staggering $133.5 billion in unfunded state pension liabilities. The hope is that gambling mixed with Pritzker's $41.5 billion capital plan over the next six years will help bring some relief to the state.
Illinois gambling opposition and tax rates
As thorough as the expansion plans are, there is always opposition. The Illinois Casino Gaming Association (ILCGA) opposed the bill from the start. Tom Swoik, executive director of ILCGA, told ProPublica-Illinois, the gambling bill would not benefit the casino industry.
'This state has not been business-friendly to casinos from the beginning, and this bill doesn't help that,' Swoik said.
Unlike other states, IL has draped the gaming industry in taxes ever since riverboat gambling appeared in the 1990s.
Currently, casinos are taxed 15 percent AGR up to or including $25 million, according to the Illinois Gaming Control Board (ILGCB). Video gaming is taxed at 30 percent with a four percent increase slated for 2020.
Is Online Gambling Legal In Illinois
Once it arrives, sports betting will be taxed at 15 percent but the real kicker is the massive 72 percent tax rate for a Chicago casino.
Despite the lopsided tax structure, Cory Aronovitz, a gaming attorney with Casino Law Group, told Play USA, Illinois had positioned itself to lead in two very critical categories.
'The way Illinois approached the gambling bill will put it in a position to maximize revenues, as well as, lead in the integrity aspect of regulation,' Aronovitz said.
According to figures from the ILGCB, the state collected $39,618,042 in gambling taxes in August, while municipalities divided up $7,074,648–all from VGTs.
In August, the state's 10 casinos generated $117,895,319 in gross gaming revenue. Of that, $38,057,318 went to the state and $6,841,296 to local municipalities.
The numbers appear promising even without sports betting, but are they enough to pull the state out of the financial abyss it calls home and bring new business to the Midwest?
Can Illinois expect gambling help in the immediate future?
Steve Brubaker, a longtime gambling lobbyist in IL, said the top two earners in the state are VGT companies followed by Rivers Casino.
In August, Rivers generated $37,598,367 in gross gaming revenue, with the next closest being the Grand Victoria in Elgin, IL, which collected $14,484,111.
But according to Brubaker, don't expect the floodgates to burst wide open with gambling and tax dollars.
'Those who think we are going to have all this gaming in the first year or two haven't been paying attention to the history of Illinois,' Brubaker said.
However, Aronovitz speculates the state gaming board might move rather quickly with some aspects of the gaming bill. In terms of VGT's, Aronovits fully expects a rollout of new gaming machines to occur later this fall.
Is Online Gambling Legal In Illinois Unemployment
'I predict there will be sports betting by the start of the 2020 football season,' Aronovits said. 'Issuance of new casino licenses by late October 2020 with the anticipation of a Chicago casino by Q3 or Q4 of 2021.'
But first, a few things must be fixed by the gaming board, and on September 17, the ILGCB took steps to clean things up.
The five-member board passed a resolution that would change the state law making casinos more viable. Although a step in the right direction, newly appointed chairman Charles Schmadeke told the Chicago Tribune, the role of the gaming board is not to tell lawmakers what to do.
'Our role is merely to refer to the legislature for consideration, and it's up to them to do as they deem appropriate,' Schmadeke said.
Legal Illinois gambling and what could be…
Perhaps it's foolish to think Illinois could ever become a lighthouse off in the distance–a beacon of gambling delight where sports bettors, daily fantasy sports enthusiast, and casino fiends come to indulge in all the pleasure the state has to offer.
Illinois is poised to see gambling growth for the next several years. Lawmakers are planning to correct some of the mistakes in S 690 when they return for a veto session in October. All legislative sponsors of the gambling bill could not be reached for comment.
'This is a long term commitment by the state,' Aronovitz said. 'The realization of tax revenue will need to be revisited after the initial rollout of full gaming under the act.'
But the path to a gambling mecca, even if only in the Midwest, has already been put into motion.
Two of the state's racetracks have already submitted applications to operate casino games. One way or another, Chicago will get its long sought-after casino. Sports betting will finally arrive with glorious applause, more VGT's will pop up, and additional casinos will be constructed.
Illinois is hoping gambling can help pull itself out of debt. But in the end, everyone knows the house always wins.
