Illinois Gambling: Important Dates

Neighboring State Gambling Overview

Illinois borders five states. The region surrounding the Land of Lincoln represents various stances toward online gambling. Among its neighbors, Illinois is one of the more progressive states with regard to its gambling laws.

Across the Mississippi, Iowa borders Illinois to the west. Iowa allows sports betting both on-property and online, though users have to register at a casino in-person before they can bet via the internet. That restriction will lift in 2021, however.

The Hawkeye State has 10 casinos, too, giving Illinois a run for its money with a strong gambling presence.

Indiana has 15 casinos, some land-based, and some riverboat properties. As far as online gambling goes, The Hoosier State had a headstart on Illinois, launching online sports betting in October 2019. With land-based gambling, pari-mutuel wagering (both on property and online), and online sports betting, Indiana’s gaming laws are similar to its neighbor’s.

One key difference: Indiana made Daily Fantasy Sports legal in 2016. Illinois still has yet to do so. Illinois is still dealing with the fallout of a 2015 opinion from then-attorney general Lisa Madigan declaring DFS sites illegal. Illinois still has no legislation in place explicitly allowing or prohibiting DFS.

See our Complete Guide To Indiana Online Sports Betting And Gambling.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin only allows tribal land-based casinos. There are no commercial properties in the state. When it comes to online gambling, the landscape in Illinois’ northern neighbor is sparse. Online gambling is illegal, and a recent attempt in 2017 to change that stance failed.

The Show-Me State won’t actually show you all that much when it comes to gambling. Riverboat casinos are legal, and Missouri has more than a dozen of them. Online gambling is neither prohibited nor allowed by Missouri law, and there have been no recent moves to change that. Online gambling in the state remains legally risky.

Kentucky

Illinois’ southernmost neighbor, Kentucky has a conservative gambling outlook. The state only allows online betting on horse races or lottery games. There are no casinos–land-based or online–in Kentucky. That looks unlikely to change any time soon. Kentucky gamblers can enjoy horse race wagering at one of the state’s six race tracks.

Although not an exact neighbor in a traditional sense, Michigan lies just across the lake from Chicago and is an easy drive from the city. Michigan took a big step in 2019 by legalizing both online casino gambling and online sports betting. The official launch of online gambling is expected in late 2020 or early 2021. In the meantime, bettors can access retail casinos and retail sportsbooks in Michigan.

Check out our Complete Guide To Michigan Online Gambling.

Legal Gambling In Illinois: A Brief History

Gambling came to The Prairie State in 1927 with the advent of pari-mutuel horse race wagering, an institution that still thrives at Illinois’ three racetracks.

Decades later in 1990, Illinois expanded its gambling options further. It was the second state after Iowa to legalize riverboat casinos. The state still has riverboat casino properties. although some are moving on land.

Since then, Illinois has made numerous changes to its laws that provide new play opportunities for gamblers in the state. The Illinois Lottery, started in 1974, started to sell online lottery tickets in 2012. A few years prior, the state enacted the Video Gaming Act, which allowed certain retail properties to offer Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs). The terminals have the same look and feel of a slot machine, but players can play multiple different games on the machines. They use lottery math models instead of traditional slot game mathematics.

2019 brought another seismic shift to Illinois gambling law when Pritzker authorized sports betting. Early 2020 saw the state’s first sportsbook launch.

Illinois Gambling FAQ