Illinois Online Casinos

Online casinos in Illinois for real money are not yet online. However, there have been significant efforts by lawmakers to make this a reality. The earliest real money gambling sites that feature casino games can be rolled out though is not before 2026, and if only there is enough momentum to back a proposal to legalize the gambling landscape.

The good news is that there is sufficient interest in expanding the current regulatory makeup and adding new activities to the list of licensed operations. Now, the bad news in 2024. You can’t legally play at online casinos for real money. Social casinos are still an option, though, and there are the sportsbooks that are one day most likely going to expand into iGaming as well, as soon as regulators in the Prairie State allow it.

This vacuum has been in the meantime filled with offshore operators which are generally avoided by most players, but there is a good number of people who are finding these casinos to be surprisingly accommodating. They do not come without their risks, however, so beware if you choose to pursue such websites.

Best Illinois Online Casinos

Finding the best online casinos in Illinois for real money will probably take some time, given that there are no regulated operators. The option is to pursue offshore gaming operations instead, which comes with all sorts of caveats and pitfalls. For one, the offshore sector is not beholden to a centralized regulatory authority in the Prairie State.

This exposes players to significant risks which could degrade their experience, or even harm them. Financial and personal data abuses, failure to meet withdrawals, and even honor payouts, are just some of the common complaints and qualms that players who visit such websites have.

Yet, we have worked long and hard to discover the top Illinois real money casinos that go the extra mile to meet a robust standard for gaming. We have run all the brands on our table to make sure that they provide a good standard to their players.

This includes a lot, but mostly the banking system, the game variety, whether the brands have any other licensing, their bonusing system, and overall customer support and feedback from players who have firsthand experience with the casino.

Most offshore casinos are not trustworthy and are better left alone. However, there are some brands that buck this trend and have repeatedly provided players with excellent experience and have honored transaction speeds, offered spot-on customer support, and generally ran a trustworthy offer.

You can do a little more digging yourself but if you prefer, you can jump straight to one of the brands that we have listed here, and which have been thoroughly reviewed by our team.

Are Online Casinos Legal in Illinois?

No, online casinos are not legal in Illinois as of right now. This may of course change, and there are already efforts underway to create a competitive landscape for online casino gambling that includes casinos.

After sports gambling became legal in 2019, Prairie State has been seriously debating the possibility to start offering other options as well. Online casinos have mostly been looked at with mistrust, as they tend to be associated with high levels of societal harm in the form of problem gambling.

However, most lawmakers have realized that without an adequate regulatory framework to regulate the industry, the upshot is even more detrimental, as players go to offshore operators instead. So, to sum up – playing online casinos for real money in Illinois is not legal right now.

But this only and mostly applies to operators. As a player who is based in the Prairie State and may have registered and played (or continue to play offshore) the law supposedly should go after you, but this has never been the case. In fact, even hardliner states in the United States are not prone to prosecute consumers for simply registering and playing online at offshore websites.

Many of the people who do that are not even aware that they have been gambling via an illegal website in the first place.

How to Pick an Online Casino in Illinois

To choose a great real money Illinois online casino all you need to do is look at several factors. If you are loath to review casinos individually, you can simply pick one of the casinos that have been vetted for the Illinois market by our team. Regardless, it’s a good idea to know what to expect.

Customer Support

Customer support is a very important aspect of the experience when looking to play at online casinos in Illinois. Players who are new will want to know that they can rely on the support service. For our part, we similarly want to recommend casinos that have a robust customer support service that is helpful, polite, and will respond so that players can get a better idea.

Reputation

Reputation is quite mandatory for any online casino in Illinois, especially those that offer real money gameplay and are based offshore. We check these casinos extensively to make sure that there is enough player feedback that clearly demonstrates that they are reliable and trustworthy. Our team will naturally perform additional testing ourselves, of course, to only bring you the best options.

Bonuses and Promotions

Bonuses and promotions are another part of the experience that merits further examination. This is why we take a close look at the specific terms and conditions of each casino. We expect to find fair, transparent, and reliable terms that allow players to quickly comprehend and onboard. Our team looks for casinos that can offer fair casino gaming in Illinois.

Banking and Payments

Knowing that you can deposit and withdraw quickly and without any issues is super important for players not just in Illinois but in any online casino. This is why we have taken a hard look at what payment options are available and reviewed them in detail. Admittedly, some offshore payment options are just worse, but they are mostly what you can do to move your money. For our part, we specifically look into whether online casinos honor their exact payment conditions and base our recommendations on this.

Games and Software

Games and software we have left for last, but not because it’s the least important. Players all crave variety, and this means that any competitive real money online casino Illinois has to offer would have to offer a good number of slots, jackpots, and live dealer games. We check other aspects as well, such as game functionality and mobile compatibility.

Mobile Illinois Casinos

To be competitive, even offshore online casinos in Illinois will have to have an impeccable mobile gambling platform. This is why we put every casino that is available in the Prairie State to a test, playing from both Android and iOS smartphones and tablets to see how each performs and holds up. We have rigorously tested to arrive at the best online casinos available to players in 2024

Illinois Casino Apps

The only fault we can find with mobile online casinos in Illinois is that they do not have dedicated apps to play from. This is understandable as the casinos available in the state are not licensed locally and, as a result, their apps cannot appear online. The casinos have not invested in apps too, however.

Land-Based Casinos in Illinois 

When it comes to land-based casinos, the term may be used a little loosely in the state. For one, there are 10 river casinos, which have long been the staple of state casino gambling. However, in 2019, the Rebuild Illinois capital program launched permits for six new brick-and-mortar casinos which have been mostly realized by now. Below, we will list some of the bigger properties, but you are free to browse around for the remainder of the list and pick any land-based or river casino you like.

Casino	Address	Contact
Harrah’s Casino	IL-53, Joliet, IL 60436, United States	+1 262-416-4931
Rivers Casino Des Plaines	3000 S River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018, United States	+1 847-795-0777
Grand Victoria Casino	250 S Grove Ave, Elgin, IL 60120, United States	+1 847-468-7000
Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel	777 Bally Blvd, Rock Island, IL 61201, United States	+1 309-756-4600
Hollywood Casino & Hotel Joliet	777 Hollywood Blvd, Joliet, IL 60436, United States	+1 888-436-7737
DraftKings at Casino Queen	200 Front St, East St Louis, IL 62201, United States	+1 618-874-5000
Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino	21 Blackjack Blvd, East Peoria, IL 61611, United States	+1 309-699-7711

Responsible Gambling in Illinois

Responsible gambling is a top priority for the state of Illinois, and thanks to the legalization of sports gambling both online and in person, there is a growing awareness of the issue, how to spot it, seek help, and treat it. On a state level, funding has been allocated to tackle problem gambling in the Prairie State.

There have also been multiple initiatives seeking to bring awareness to the issue, including the Illinois Department of Human Services, which has been funded to address the issue. The state also has the Illinois Council on Problem Gambling, which is a part of a nationwide effort to tackle problem gambling in the first place.

All stakeholders, including land-based casinos and mobile sportsbooks, are actively pushing safer gambling practices on consumers and they admittedly do a better job of it than their offshore counterparts which are less concerned with player well-being in general.

Illinois Online Casinos FAQ