Illinois Casinos Online

While liberal winds haven’t always been blowing in the prairie state, Illinois is certainly no stranger to gambling these days. Not only is this land of Lincoln home to ten riverboat casinos; five racetracks; four bingo halls and a couple of other gambling venues. As of 2019 sports betting is also legalized over the internet, while a bill has passed to allow for six new brick and mortar casinos to be built.

In addition to this flourishing gambling industry, there are plenty of Illinois friendly casinos online that residents of the prairie state can get a dose of high quality casino, sports wagering and poker entertainment from. The fact of the matter is that gambling online has several benefits over visiting land based gambling establishments. It’s not only incredibly convenient, but through more bonus offers and higher payout rates it’s actually a lot easier to win.

Best online casinos in Illinois listed and reviewed

While there are plenty of casinos in Illinois that can be played at online it is crucial to be picky with your choices. Not only to be sure that you play at a legitimately licensed site that is guaranteeing your safety, but also to get the most convenient and pleasing gambling experience. To facilitate the search process, we have done all of the cherry-picking for you and gathered and reviewed some of the best online casinos in Illinois below. These are all well-reputed and high quality gambling sites.

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How do I play at Illinois casinos online?

Gambling over the internet is very easy. It’s not like the old days where you were required to download and install a software on your computer. Whether we’re talking about slot machines, table games, video pokers or any other type of gambling this is smoothly done from your web browser. Either in front of your computer or anywhere you would like to using a mobile device.

Getting started all you have to do is to create an account with any of the best Illinois casinos mentioned above and make a deposit. It’s a quick and smooth process. You’ll find payment methods such as Visa, Mastercard and Bitcoins and are able to deposit anything from as little as $10 to several thousands of dollars should you like to play at the highest stakes.

Withdrawing is just about as easy as depositing, though you may not have the same options for it. Some casinos don’t allow cash outs to debit cards, which means that you may have to withdraw by check or Bitcoins. If by check the minimum cash out could have a limit of up to $100 which is important to know about.

You should also be aware that the vast majority of gambling sites will ask for a photo copy of a valid ID before approving your first cash out. This is a security measure that is pretty standard in the gambling industry – not only online but also at brick and mortar casinos.

To get the most value out of your gambling experience it’s highly recommended taking part of promotional offers. You’ll find plenty of different bonuses at most of our listed Illinois casinos online; anything from cashbacks to competitions, lottery draws, free spins and extra cash on your deposits.

While these promotions can be very valuable to use it’s crucial to know that they usually come with certain rules (terms and conditions) that are wise to have a look at. It is for instance common that a wagering requirement has to be fulfilled if you have received extra cash on a deposit. This means that you have to stake a certain amount of money before the bonus can be withdrawn.

While many states haven’t directly addressed internet gambling in their laws, Illinois is very clear about it. It’s unfortunately not any good news as the following piece of text can be found in the criminal code covering illegal gambling offences:

 “…knowingly establishes, maintains, or operates an Internet site that permits a person to play a game of chance or skill for money or other thing of value by means of the Internet or to make a wager upon the result of any game, contest, political nomination, appointment, or election by means of the Internet”

As you can see this means that offering any type of gambling over the internet, as well as partaking in such gambling is forbidden in Illinois. There are two exceptions to the rule though as gambling laws have changed slightly in recent years. Purchasing lottery tickets from the state lottery is allowed to do over the internet. Since 2019 sports betting online is also legalized.

As of 2020 it is, however, still not legal to play casino online in Illinois or indulge in poker over the internet. But this shouldn’t stop you as the risk of being prosecuted for doing so is more or less non-existent. Tens of thousands of Illinois have gambled online for several years and no one has ever faced any legal action for doing so. It’s very unlikely that it would ever happen.

A brief look at the history of gambling in Illinois

1830: Horse racing is introduced to the state as the first racetrack opens up in Chicago. It is, however, not officially legal to wager money on the races.

1840: This year saw the first signs of what would eventually become a blooming industry – gambling on riverboats.  

1927: Betting on horse racing is legalized.

1975: With the ambition of funding local schools a state lottery is introduced. Nowadays this lottery is generating more than $2.8 billion in sales every month.

1987: Off-track betting is legalized.

1989: Charitable gambling is legalized.

1990: Aiming to boost the economy of struggling river towns, the Riverboat Gambling Act is introduced to allow a limited number of riverboat casinos in the state.

2011: A bill passes which makes it possible for restaurants, bars, truck stops and some other facilities to offer up to 5 slot machines.

2012: This year saw the opening of the 10th and final riverboat casino in Illinois.

2013: While internet gambling is criminalized, an exception is made to the state lottery which is now allowed to sell tickets online and have residents legally purchase them.

2014: A bill is introduced to allow more riverboat casinos in the state. Governor Quinn does, however, veto against it. 

2015: A poker game in Naperville is raided by the police and 13 people are taken under arrest. A Lamborghini, Mercedes, Porsche, as well as $25,000 in cold hard cash are also confiscated.

2019: Through the Illinois Gambling Act of 2019 wagering money on sports over the internet is legalized. The act also allows for six new casinos to be built in the state.

Land based gambling venues and casinos in Illinois

Should you prefer gambling at a land based venue as opposed to playing at any of the best Illinois online casinos listed by us, there’s certainly no shortage of options. You have as many as ten riverboat casinos to pick from where the famous Hollywood Casino Joliet and Par-A-Dice Hotel are both housing over 1000 slot machines and 20 table games. You’ll also find plenty of bingo halls and racetracks where you can wager money on horses and greyhounds, as well some smaller slot venues.

Riverboat casinos in Illinois

Argosy Casino Alton
Address: 1 Piasa St, Alton, IL 62002

Casino Queen & Hotel
Address: 200 South Front Street East St. Louis, IL 62201

Grand Victoria Casino Elgin
Address: 250 S Grove Ave, Elgin, IL 60120

Harrah’s Joliet Casino & Hotel
Address: 151 N Joliet St, Joliet, IL 60432

Harrah’s Metropolis Casino Hotel
Address: 301 Beach Terrace, Colonial Beach, Virginia 22443

Hollywood Casino Aurora
Address: 1 W New York St, Aurora, IL 60506

Hollywood Casino Joliet
Address: 777 Hollywood Blvd, Joliet, IL 60436

Jumer’s Casino & Hotel
Address: 777 Jumer Dr, Rock Island, IL 61201

Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino
Address: 21 Blackjack Blvd, East Peoria, IL 61611

Rivers Casino Des Plaines
Address: 3000 S River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018

Racetracks in Illinois

Arlington International Racecourse
Address: 2200 W Euclid Ave, Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Balmoral Park Race Track
Address: 26435 South Dixie Highway, Crete, IL 60417

Hawthorne Race Course
Address: 3501 S Laramie Ave, Cicero, IL 60804

Du Quion State Fair Harness Racing
Address: 655 Executive Drive Du Quoin, IL 62832

Fairmount Park Racetrack
Address: 9301 Collinsville Road, Collinsville, IL 62234

Bingo halls in Illinois

Majestic Hall
Address: 830 IL-121, Mt Zion, IL 62549

Firemen’s Hall
Address: 9510 Collinsville Rd, Collinsville, IL 62234

Catholic Knights & Ladies
Address: 2800 N Illinois St, Swansea, IL 62226

Big Money Bingo
Address: 356 Wylie Dr, Normal, IL 61761

Other gambling venues in Illinois

Slots4Fun
Address:
6734 Broadcast Pkwy, Loves Park, IL 61111

Flamingo Slots
Address:
7521 Walton St, Rockford, IL 61108

Lacey’s Place Slots and Video Poker
Address: 2508 Village Green Pl b, Champaign, IL 61822

FAQ about gambling and casinos in Illinois

Is it legal to play poker with my friends in Illinois?

A long as no money is involved it is fine, but if you’re playing for cash you are breaking the law as no social gambling is allowed in state. Unless you’re making a big deal out of your game it’s highly unlikely that you would get in trouble for it though. Even if the police found out about it, which they probably can’t, they surely have better things to spend their limited resources on than raiding an innocent home game of poker.

How old do I have to be to gamble in Illinois?

While tickets from the state lottery can be purchased at the age of 18, visiting any of the riverboat casinos you won’t be allowed in unless you’re 21. This is yet another benefit of playing at Illinois friendly casinos online as many of these have a minimum age requirement of 18. Not all, but many.

What games can I find at online casinos?

It depends on the gambling site you visit, but if you choose any of the best casinos in Illinois that we have listed on top of the page you’ll find more or less everything. We’re talking about hundreds of slots, numerous video pokers and several table games such as roulette, blackjack, baccarat and craps. These table games can also be enjoyed against real dealers with the help of a video stream capturing a live environment. In addition to this, you’ll find sports wagering, horse racing and online poker.

How safe is it for Illinois to gamble online?

Generally very safe. While it may be a criminal offence on paper it’s extremely unlikely that you would ever face any legal action from gambling over the internet. It hasn’t happened to anyone yet. Most Illinois casinos online are also legitimately licensed and very serious about their business. They may not be regulated in America, but they are indeed regulated. This is done by organizations in other jurisdictions such as Curacao and Kahnawake.

Not all casinos are, however, regulated. Some of the organizations that issue licenses to online casinos are also a bit too easygoing when it comes to player protection. To be certain that you get a safe gambling experience it’s therefore wise to play at a well reputed site such as any of the best Illinois casinos recommended by us.

Are there any fees for deposits and cash outs online?

This will vary from one gambling site to another, but when it comes to deposits it is quite common for a small fee to apply. Fees on withdrawals are a lot rarer, but they do in fact occur as well.

A part from picking a casino without any fees, these can be avoided by choosing to deposit and withdraw using Bitcoins. As far as we know there are no gambling sites that charge any fees for using crypto currencies like this.


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