Land Based and Online Gambling Illinois
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Illinois, which is also known as Prairie State or a Great Lakes state, is the fifth most populated state in the United States. Prairie State is the second state in the USA where riverboat casinos were introduced in 1991. In total, there are 19 brick and mortar casinos in the Great Lakes state where you can play over 344 table games, 49 poker games, and 13,508 slots and gaming machines. The betting range in the Great Lakes is from $0.01 to $100,000, which makes land based gambling in the Prairie state attractive for both low budget gamblers who prefer to place min bets as well as high rollers who adore placing max bets. For more details regarding land based gambling and online casino Illinois, make sure to carefully read our comprehensive Illinois gambling guide on this web page.
Top Land Based Casinos in Illinois
| Offline Casino | Location & Contact Info | Gambling Info | Amenities |
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| Hard Rock Casino Rockford | Address: E State Street, Rockford, Illinois
Tel: 937-235-7800 or 844-225-7057 |
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| Southland Live Casino | Address: River Oaks Center, Calumet City, Illinois |
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| Hollywood Casino Joliet (opened on December 22, 2010) | Address: 777 Hollywood Blvd., Joliet, Illinois
Tel: (888) 436-7737 |
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| Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino (opened on February 1, 1992) | Address: 21 Blackjack Boulevard, East Peoria, Illinois
Tel: (309) 698-7711 |
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| Hollywood Casino Aurora (opened on June 17, 1993) | Address: 1 W New York St, Aurora, Illinois
Tel: (630) 801-1234 |
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| Casino Queen & Hotel (opened on August 2, 2007) | Address: Casino Queen, 200 South Front Street, East Saint Louis, Illinois
Tel: (618) 874-5000 |
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| Harrah’s Joliet Casino & Hotel (opened on May 4, 1993) | Address: 151 North Joliet Street, Joliet, Illinois
Tel: (815) 740-7800 |
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| Grand Victoria Casino Elgin (opened on October 6, 1994) | Address: 250 South Grove Avenue, Elgin, Illinois
Tel: (847) 468-7000 |
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| Jumer’s Casino & Hotel (opened on December 1, 2008) | Address: 777 Jumer Drive, Rock Island, Illinois
Tel: (309) 756-4600 |
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| Argosy Casino Alton (opened on January 1, 2004) | Address: 1 Piasa Street, Alton, Illinois
Tel: (618) 474-7400 |
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Illinois Legal Gambling Regulations
According to several code sections (230 5/1 et seq, 230 10/1 et seq, and 720 5/28-1 et seq), in the Prairie state you can participate in the licensed horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering activities. You can also take part in the following gambling and related to gambling activities: pull tab and jar games; bona fide contests of skill, strength, speed, or endurance; lotteries; compensation agreements; manufacture of gambling devices; raffles; casino gaming; charitable bingo; possession of antique slot machines; and charitable games.
In 1990, there was also passed the Riverboat Gambling Act according to which riverboat gambling was legalized upon any navigable stream except for Lake Michigan and counties with the population in excess of 3 million. The main requirement to the riverboat casinos is that they must be exceptionally on the water. During their first 10 years of operation, riverboat casinos were required to leave the dock for two hours. However, since 1999 there was a change to this law, so nowadays riverboats have become more traditional and there’s no requirement for them to leave the dock any longer.
Mind that the only legal way for you to play bingo games in the Prairie state is to make sure that their operators are charities. Besides, it’s a must for bingo operators as well as operators of other gambling activities to be yearly licensed, which costs about $200 per year. Be aware that Illinois gambling laws state that it’s illegal to play in unlicensed gambling establishments. In case of breaking this law, either a player or an operator can be convicted as a Class 4 felony. In addition, the max prize per contest that you can win playing bingo games is $500, while the maximum daily prize pool is $2,250.
Mind that the gambling age in the Prairie state is 21 for video poker and other casino activities, while lottery and racing enthusiasts can enjoy these activities at the age of 18.
Illinois Online Gambling Laws
As for online gambling in the Prairie state, we are sad to tell you that it is considered illegal to play games of chance on the web. The only exception is the Illinois online state Lottery that is legally allowed to sell lotto tickets on the official website.
While we do realise your disappointment, there’s some good news. Recently, there was suggested to adopt the Illinois online gambling bill according to which online casinos are supposed to be legalized. They are expected to be monitored and regulated by the Division of Internet Gaming. Evidently, it’s relevant only for the licensed gambling website. To obtain the gambling license from the Prairie state government, casino operators have to pay a $10 million upfront fee as well as 15% tax on their gross revenues, which is quite a fancy sum, huh? Another important thing to understand is that only corporations that currently offer land based gambling activities are eligible for the online gambling license.
As you can see it yourself, the procedure of legalization of online gambling in Illinois is quite tough and time consuming. Besides, there’s still no info as for the date when the Illinois online gambling bill is expected to pass. For this reason, we recommend you to consider gambling in the offshore online casinos that are available for gamblers from the Prairie state. In the section below, you are welcome to check our recommended offline online casinos that are licensed and 100% safe to play with.
