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.

Is it legal to play casino online in Illinois?

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 10^th 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

Racetracks in Illinois

Bingo halls in Illinois

Other gambling venues in Illinois

FAQ about gambling and casinos in Illinois

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