Illinois sports betting law and regulations

Illinois legalized sports betting with the passage of SB 690 in June 2019. The law allowed for online and retail sports betting in the state. Retail facilities cleared to offer sports betting included the state’s casinos, racetracks and larger sports venues. The law also provided for three online-only licenses to be awarded in 2021.

The defining feature of the law to this point has been its in-person registration requirement which ended March 2022. According to the law, all sports bettors must travel to the partner casino of the app that they want to use to complete their registrations. The pandemic in 2020 closed local casinos, and in turn, the state put a hold on the requirement until April 2021.

Here are some of the other details about Illinois’ sports betting law:

License fees are 5% of the previous year’s or the current year’s handle, depending on when the state issues the license. The maximum fee is $10 million.
The online-only licenses, however, require a $20 million fee.
All licenses are valid for four years and are renewable for $1 million.
Sports betting is taxed at a rate of 15% of gross gaming revenue.
Live wagers must use official league data.
Full list of legal sports betting apps in Illinois
At present, there are seven sports betting apps live in Illinois. BetRivers was the first to launch in the state in 2020. Each app is partnered with a casino located in the state. Here are the legal sports betting apps in Illinois:

Barstool Sportsbook (Hollywood Casino Aurora/Hollywood Casino Joliet)
BetMGM Sportsbook
BetRivers Sportsbook (Rivers Des Plaines)
Caesars Sportsbook (Grand Victoria Casino Elgin/Harrah’s Joliet/Harrah’s Metropolis)
DraftKings Sportsbook (DraftKings at Casino Queen)
FanDuel Sportsbook (Par-a-Dice Casino)
PointsBet Sportsbook (Hawthorne Race Course)
Popular sports to bet on in Illinois
Illinois is home to a slew of major sports teams for people in the state to support and bet on, if they choose. Thanks to the language of Illinois’ sports betting law, bettors will soon be able to place wagers at the stadiums of many of these teams as well.

Here are the most popular sports and Illinois teams on which to bet in the state:

NBA — Chicago Bulls
NFL — Chicago Bears
MLB — Chicago White Sox
MLB — Chicago Cubs
NHL — Chicago Blackhawks
MLS — Chicago Fire FC

In addition to these Chicago teams, there are also options for wagering on other games in these leagues, special events like March Madness or the Olympics, and more individual-focused sports like tennis, mixed martial arts, golf and motorsports.

Illinois sports betting history

Although sports betting legalization efforts in Illinois began in 2018, they didn’t get serious until the following year. For that matter, it took a challenge from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who included sports betting revenue as part of his budget, to motivate Illinois lawmakers to put forth measures to make the activity a reality in the state. Here’s a brief rundown of everything that happened to bring sports betting to this point in Illinois.

2019: A flurry of legislative activity produces several bills but little agreement in the Illinois General Assembly. Ultimately, Rep. Bob Rita takes the mantle as the mediator of the process and negotiates several compromises with stakeholders. Pritzker signs the bill into law in late June.

2020: The first retail sportsbooks go live in March at Rivers Des Plaines and Argosy Casino Alton. Their service is short-lived due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Pritzker suspends the in-person registration requirement in May as the launch of online sports betting approaches. The first online sportsbook, BetRivers, opens its virtual doors for business the following month. Before the end of 2020, four other online sportsbooks will launch in Illinois.

2021: The sixth online sportsbook in the state, Barstool Sports, opens for business in March. Handle and revenue continue to grow throughout the year, with Illinois sports bettors placing a record $840.4 million in wagers in October. That same month, the Illinois General Assembly votes to rescind the in-person registration requirement and allow in-person pregame wagering on in-state college teams.

2022: On March 5, the in-person registration requirement finally ended. This changed the game quickly in the state as the first full month of remote registration resulted in a record $971.3 million in handle. A new sportsbook called Caliente was deemed qualified to launch in Illinois in April, but Fubo did not pass muster. Meanwhile, DraftKings and the Chicago Cubs plan to open a retail sportsbook at Wrigley Field in the next year.

FAQ on Illinois sports betting

Is sports betting legal in Illinois?

Yes, sports betting is legal in Illinois, with several online and retail sportsbooks active in the state as of 2020. The Illinois General Assembly passed a sports betting law in 2019, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed in June of that year.

Where can I bet on sports in Illinois?

Illinois sportsbook apps make betting available statewide, but state law permits wagering at the state’s casinos, racetracks and selected sports arenas, too. Not every eligible facility has opened a sportsbook yet. Here are the locations that have a sportsbook open for business:

Rivers Des Plaines, 3000 S. River Road, Des Plaines, IL 60018
Argosy Casino Alton, 1 Piasa St., Alton, IL 62002
Grand Victoria Casino, 250 S. Grove Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
DraftKings at Casino Queen, 200 S. Front St., East St Louis, IL 62201
Par-a-Dice Casino, 21 Blackjack Blvd., East Peoria, IL 61611
Hollywood Casino Aurora, 1 W. New York St., Aurora, IL 60506
Hollywood Casino Joliet, 777 Hollywood Blvd., Joliet, IL 60436
Is Bovada legal in Illinois?
No. Bovada is not licensed to operate by the Illinois Gaming Board and is not part of the regulated options for sports betting in the state. Bovada offers service to Illinoisans from outside the United States in violation of federal law. We recommend that you use one of the regulated options listed above for your wagers on sports in the Prairie State.

How old do I have to be to bet on sports in Illinois?

The minimum betting age is 21. Anyone who wants to bet on sports in Illinois, live or online, must verify that they are 21 or older.

Is horse betting legal in Illinois?
Yes. There are numerous outlets for betting on horse racing in Illinois. First and foremost, you can place bets in person at one of the two live racing tracks in the state — Fairmount Park and Hawthorne Race Course. In addition, each track maintains several satellite locations for off-track betting around the state. Between the two, there are 13 OTB parlors in Illinois.

Finally, Illinoisans are eligible to bet on horse racing through their mobile devices and computers at several online horse betting sites. Of those sites, the best option is TVG, which offers both wagering across the country and a 24-hour broadcast network dedicated to horse betting.

Can I play daily fantasy sports contests in Illinois?

Yes. Although the legality of DFS was a question for the courts for many years, the Illinois Supreme Court finally declared that some daily fantasy sports contests are skill games and are not illegal gambling under state law. Thus, DraftKings, FanDuel and other DFS providers are available to Illinois residents who want to play.