Illinois casinos offer players a wide diversity of gambling. The racing industry is known to be the first to enter the gaming market. The Illinois gaming lottery is one of the first in the Midwest. There are also numerous high-end Illinois casinos and also video lottery, including Chicago casinos.
The state’s economy and smoking prohibition hurt the state’s gaming revenue in recent years. The state passed a casino smoking prohibition in 2008, before the Great Recession. This cut 20% off its betting revenue as smokers moved to border states where casinos allow smoking. Illinois got hit hard by the recession.
This kept the gaming revenue down for a lengthier period than other regions. The state stopped paying big lotto winners in 2015, due to a budget stalemate in the state legislature.
Best Illinois Casino Sites
Illinois Casinos & Gambling
- Year Gambling was regulated in Illinois: Lottery (1974), Horseracing (1927), Bingo (1983), Video Lottery (2012), Casinos (1991).
- Tax Revenue from Gambling: $1.1 billion
- Gambling Revenue: $3.8 billion
- Illinois legal Gambling Age:21 for casinos and video lottery and 18 for racing, lottery, and bingo.
- Illinois legal Online gambling: Horseracing
Online Illinois Gambling
Horseracing is one type of legal internet gaming in Illinois. Gamblers may make progressive deposits at sites such as TwinSpires, TVG, and BetAmerica. The Illinois Lottery sells tickets online. These include Mega Millions, Powerball, pick 3 and also Pick 4. Casino Players can purchase subscriptions for about 13, 26 or 52 weeks.
Popular Games
- Slots
- Blackjack
- Poker
- Craps/Roulette
- Horses
- Lottery
Types of Live Illinois Gambling
Horseracing is the oldest type of live betting in Illinois. There is a total of seven racetracks available in Illinois. Racebooks are legal in Illinois. This is where punters can get off-track action.
The Illinois Lottery is the oldest in the country. lotto drawings and scratch-off tickets are spread by the Illinois Lottery. Lottos includes Lotto Extra Shot, LuckyDay Lotto, Powerball, and also Mega Millions.
Illinois casinos opened in 1991 and casino games were legal from the very first day of gambling. slots, poker, video poker, craps, blackjack, roulette, and table gaming games that use cards are also all legal in Illinois casinos.
Video poker and slots are spread in restaurants, bars, gas stations, and also charitable organizations. The best video poker casino game returns about 97.9%. There are over 4,500 video gambling establishments in Illinois.
Illinois Gambling Laws
Illinois gaming laws licenses and regulates frequent types of gaming in the state. This includes charitable bingo, pari-mutuel betting, casino gaming, and lotteries. These types of gambling are exactly exempted from state law.
It is a misdemeanor to play in an unlicensed venue in Illinois as either a gambler or an operator. Casinos in Illinois operate under the Riverboat Gambling Act, which was passed in 1990. Illinois makes it a gaming crime to operate a game online. The only exclusion to this is the lottery.
List of Illinois Casinos
| CASINO | SIZE | ADDRESS | WEBSITE |
| Argosy Casino – Alton | 1,100 Slot Machines | 1 Piasa Street | www.argosyalton.com |
| Casino Queen – East St. Louis | 1,100 Slot Machines | 200 South Front Street | www.casinoqueen.com |
| Grand Victoria Casino – Elgin | 1,100 Slot Machines | 250 S. Grove Ave. | www.grandvictoriacasino.com |
| Harrah’s Casino – Joliet | 1,188 Slot Machines | 151 N. Joliet St. | www.caesars.com/harrahs-joliet |
| Harrah’s Metropolis Casino | 1,145 Slot Machines | 100 East Front Street | https://www.caesars.com/harrahs-metropolis |
| Hollywood Casino – Aurora | 1,160 Slot Machines | 49 W. Galena Blvd. | www.hollywoodcasinoaurora.com |
| Jumer’s Casino – Rock Island | 1,100 Slot Machines | 777 Jumer Dr. | www.jumerscasinohotel.com |
| Par-A-Dice Casino – East Peoria | 1,100 Slot Machines | 21 Blackjack Blvd. | www.paradicecasino.com |
| Rivers Casino – Des Plaines | 1,050 Slot Machines | 3000 S. River Rd. | www.riverscasino.com |
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