Illinois Online Casinos
One of the most densely populated states in the US, with a relatively liberal view on the betting scene, the market of online gambling Illinois is expected to be one of the successful models throughout the states. However, to date, no attempts at legalizing or setting the terms of an online casino in Illinois have been made. This although the operators have always found creative ways to legally bypass the Illinois casino laws while keeping up the interest, as was the case with the “poker runs” or by setting the gambling casinos in Illinois on boats to keep them legal as in other gambling states.
Best Illinois Online Casino Sites
| Casino | Bonus | Website | Rating | Features | Deposit | ||
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| 1 |  | $2000 | Review |
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| 2 |  | $12250 | Review |
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| 3 |  | $12000 | Review |
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| 4 |  | $2500 | Review |
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| 5 |  | $1000 | Review |
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| 6 |  | $7777 | Review |
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| 7 |  | $3000 | Review |
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| 8 |  | $800 | Review |
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| 9 |  | $4000 | Review |
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| 10 |  | $5000 | Review |
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Contents
Illinois Gambling Laws
There are a couple of things to say about how this domain developed throughout history, seeing the emergence of more than one riverboat casino Illinois based even before the Civil War. These have been in the trends for a couple of tens of years, but at one point, their fame has vanished, and they disappeared. The neighboring state of Iowa contested the supremacy of the Mississippi River, and so, in 1990, the riverboats were re-launched to water in IL as well. Nowadays, they are the only legally accepted form of casino in Illinois. Especially after the 1999 decision to let them keep their role, even if they didn’t offer cruises anymore, but became permanently tied down to the piers.
Race tracks have also been a part of the state’s oldest entertainment options, the area of Chicago being at the center of the horse racing mania in the early 20th century. The lottery was also instated a long time ago, now bringing a reasonable amount of tax income to the state’s treasury.
Illinois gambling laws have always been in constant turmoil and change with many innovative means to capitalize on the gamblers’ money. About ten years ago, an initiative was put in place, which allowed different establishments to install video gaming terminals, thus offering a new experience to players around the state.
Also, as another piece of novelty, there exists an Internet-related way of gambling, provided by the lottery, where players can buy tickets online or enter pre-defined plans to wager. This gives out great hope for the regulation of online sports betting in Illinois.
With all these new ways of looking at the betting options that exist in this state, many have wondered how long will it be until it can be answered affirmatively whether online poker is legal in Illinois or not.
Illinois Online Gambling Perspectives
Unfortunately, despite the many beliefs that Illinois online casinos are going to receive a significant amplitude, for the time being, things look very calm on this topic. And not much good news is seen at the horizon. The best casino in Illinois is thought to be still the history-filled riverboat casino, although many other modern versions have become available.
The talk for virtual gaming has been included in a couple of gambling expansion law proposals, especially after the VGT’s bill’s success. Still, it never went beyond the stage of discussion. This doesn’t mean that gambling in Illinois is entirely devoid of Internet wagering options. Many off-shore gaming software providers have found the loophole in the legislation, which allows them to operate in the US without fear of breaking the laws. As a result, the IL residents are free to play the games on these sites, given they respect the mandatory minimum gambling age in Illinois of 21 years for these types of games. Also, it’s essential to tread carefully when selecting the website of choice. Other review-specialized websites do the hard work of verifying the site’s legitimacy to play on, providing a list of safe choices. And our number one choice is Bovada Casino which is legal in Illinois.
- 100$ up to $3000
- Top 1 USA online casino
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Another hassle could show up when depositing money in the virtual account, seeing how, for extra security measures, not every means of transferring money is allowed. Surest and fastest would be the use of fast-transfer services, MoneyGram and Western Union, being the top picks. Withdrawing cash is more straightforward. The sites are usually going for wire transfers or the old and trusty bank checks.
Offline Gambling Options
Riverboats
As said before, these options represent the best casinos in Illinois, especially considering how the other related alternatives are the VGTs. Illinois gambling stage has profited at maximum length from these establishments, making the most out of their:
- History, them being some of the vestiges that still retain some of the glamour of the old days, preceding the Civil War
- Particularity, as a casino on the water, is not something one can experience quite any day
- Tourism potential, being a combination of the previously stated two ideas
- Positioning, these Southern Illinois casinos being established near the unfriendly towards gambling the state of Tennessee, which allowed many Tennesseans, willing for the thrill of placing bets, to come aboard.
Race Tracks
The Illinois casinos locations wouldn’t have made a complete list without mentioning these race tracks, with just as much history around them as the river cruises have. At one point, the owners of these venues asked for slots machines to be installed to transform their establishments into the more profitable versions of racinos, but they were denied this alteration of the rules.
Charitable Gaming
The venues that complete the list of casinos in Illinois are those nonprofit societies that organize charitable gaming, be it bingo, pull-tabs, pickle games, and so on.
The inventiveness of IL residents is revealed with the concoction of the so-called “poker-runs”. In the absence of any Illinois casino in the vicinity, especially one that is not on the water, gangs of motorcyclists and others traveling by vehicles came up with this weird way of legally playing poker. Each member would go to 5 different venues and extract a single card from a deck. Then they would gather, and whoever had the best hand won.
Video Lottery Terminal
The expansion of wagering made a significant breakthrough with these machines so similar to Illinois slots on your phone real money. These made for the best Illinois casinos alternatives and caught on quickly with the public, having the advantage of being user-friendly, easy to play, and spread statewide. They soon managed to bring more tax income than the riverboats.
You Might Also be Interested in:
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❓ Is gambling in Chicago allowed?
The field of gambling in Chicago has to respect the same Illinois casino laws as everywhere else across the state. Any casino Illinois-based works are on the riverboat cruises, some of which are close enough to the city of Chicago. Also, it is a hub for the only sort of Illinois sports gambling allowed, which is horse racing betting, with horse tracks close by and off-track betting facilities within the city limits. There is also the prospect of buying lottery tickets, playing one of the VGTs from different bars and restaurants containing these devices.
❓ Is online gambling legal in Illinois?
While it is not considered illegal, there are no rules to look over this activity, which makes it in an undefined state, with no one willing to operate an online casino Illinois based. But for those that are willing to play online poker in Illinois can find a large offer of websites licensed in other countries, which provide these services.
❓ What is the legal Illinois gambling age?
The gambling age in Illinois is 18 for lottery and bingo, but if you want to board one of the IL casinos on a riverboat, the required age is 21 years old.
❓ Are there any online casinos Illinois based?
No. The field of online gambling in Illinois isn’t that developed, meaning that except for the possibility of buying lottery tickets or establishing plans to purchase these tickets on accredited sites, no other form of Internet-based betting is permitted. There also seems to be little talk about possible Ill casinos getting licenses anytime in the short run.
❓ Is it safe to transfer money to websites that are not within the state’s borders?
Yes. The issue with money transfers in virtual accounts is not related to the specific use of websites offering online poker Illinois based or not, but the legitimacy of these sites. There are many scammers and some areas that set out to find and reveal them so that the recommended Illinois online casinos are vouched for, and players can rest assured that they are the real deal.
❓ Is there any chance that we’ll see any online casinos Illinois?
This state has always had an open mind regarding various forms of betting, with many being available right now across the state. Concerning the Illinois online casino sites that might occur in the future, although there isn’t any heated discussion on the matter right now, we are pretty confident that when things begin settling down, it’s going to become an issue to consider state lawmakers.