The gambling laws for the Prairie State are quite relaxed, but If you are a landlubber you might not enjoy the physical location of the casinos in Illinois -- the majority of them are riverboat casinos, although the chances of some of them actually sailing due to their size is doubtful.
The riverboats are run by some very familiar names in the casino world such as Harrah's and Churchill Downs. In these riverboat casinos, you will find a good mix of traditional table games such as roulette and blackjack mixed in with the hundreds of video slot machines. You will also find poker rooms, with the Harrah’s Joliet being able to boast that is home to a World Series of Poker-branded room.
Illinois is also home to three racetracks: Arlington International Racecourse (also owned by Churchill Downs), Fairmount Park Racetrack and the oldest family-owned racetrack in America, Hawthorne Race Course, which has been operated by the Carey Family since 1909 (although the track was built in 1891).
If you are looking to place bets on the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, etc then the tide has begun to turn in the Land of Lincoln. Sportsbooks may not yet active in the state, but there the law has now changed to allow the process to begin. The state will issue a set number of licenses that will allow casinos, racetracks and even stadiums to operate retail sportsbooks with these operations allowed to create online versions for mobile betting.
In the meantime, you will have to make do with real-money DFS leagues or parimutuel horse race betting with selected authorized operators.
Although every care has been taken into providing the information
for
this map, state law can often change and this map is how we at GamingUSA understand the gambling law in each
state to be as of March 27th 2023
