Illinois Sports Betting Sites: Licensed IL Apps, Fees and Offers

Illinois charges for every bet. Since July 1, 2025, online sportsbooks have paid the state 25 cents on each of their first 20 million wagers a year. Every wager after that costs 50 cents, and the biggest operators pass that cost straight to you. The fee sits on top of a graduated revenue tax that tops out at 40%.

That makes Illinois one of the most expensive states to run a sportsbook, and one of the most important to get right as a bettor. Below are the 10 online sportsbooks the Illinois Gaming Board authorizes, the rules, and the partner offers live in the state.

21+. New customers only, must be physically located in Illinois. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Illinois betting laws at a glance

Product	Status in Illinois
Online sports betting	Legal since June 2020
Online casino	Not legal
Sweepstakes casinos	No ban in law; Gaming Board and Attorney General cease-and-desist letters sent February 2026
Prediction markets	Contested: the CFTC has sued Illinois over state enforcement
Horse racing (online)	Legal through licensed advance deposit wagering
Regulator	Illinois Gaming Board (IGB)
Minimum age	21
Tax	Graduated 20% to 40% of revenue, plus a 25 to 50 cent fee per online wager

Best Illinois offers from our partners

Hard Rock Bet sportsbook in Illinois

Hard Rock Bet is on the IGB’s list of authorized online sportsbooks, licensed through 815 Entertainment, the owner of Hard Rock Casino Rockford.

Read our Hard Rock Bet review for markets, odds and the app experience. Hard Rock Bet does not run an online casino in Illinois, because the state has not legalized one.

AmWager for horse racing

AmWager lists Illinois as an available state in the schedule attached to its terms and conditions, excluding greyhound wagering. AmWager requires all account holders to be 21 or older.

For a wider look at racing apps, see our best horse betting apps guide or the AmWager review.

Authorized Illinois sportsbooks

The IGB’s list of authorized operating sportsbooks names 10 online brands, each tied to a licensee.

Online sportsbook	Licensee
bet365	Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort
BetMGM	Par-A-Dice Gaming Corporation
BetRivers	Midwest Gaming & Entertainment (Rivers Casino Des Plaines)
Caesars Sportsbook	Elgin Riverboat Resort (Grand Victoria Casino)
Circa Sports	FHR-Illinois (American Place Casino)
DraftKings	Casino Queen
Fanatics Sportsbook	Alton Casino (Argosy Casino Alton)
FanDuel	Fairmount Park
Hard Rock Bet	815 Entertainment (Hard Rock Casino Rockford)
theScore Bet	HC Aurora (Hollywood Casino Aurora)

Circa Sports is the Las Vegas book known for high limits and sharp lines. Four other licensees, including Bally’s Quad Cities and Wind Creek Chicago Southland, run retail sportsbooks only. A retail-only book cannot take bets on your phone, however close you live.

Illinois sports betting taxes and fees explained

The per-wager fee

The fee started on July 1, 2025, the first day of the state’s 2026 fiscal year, as Legal Sports Report detailed at the time. It applies to every online wager, including bets placed with bonus funds, and to pushed bets. Voided bets are exempt. DraftKings and FanDuel, the only operators past the 20 million-bet threshold, said they would pass the charge to customers, and Fanatics said the same.

For a $10 bet, a 50-cent fee is 5% of your stake before the game even starts. That changes the math on small parlays and same-game parlays most of all. Our expected value calculator lets you add a fixed cost to see whether a bet still makes sense.

The graduated revenue tax

In July 2024 Illinois swapped its flat 15% tax for a tiered schedule from 20% to 40% of adjusted gross revenue. The top rate applies to operators earning more than $200 million a year in Illinois. Only DraftKings and FanDuel hit the top bracket.

Sweepstakes casinos under pressure

On February 5, 2026, the Illinois Gaming Board and Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office sent cease-and-desist letters to more than 60 sweepstakes casino operators. Some moved Illinois accounts to redeem-only. A ban bill sits in committee. Check our sweepstakes legal states page before signing up.

Prediction markets

The CFTC is one of the parties suing Illinois, seeking to stop the state from applying its gambling laws to federally registered exchanges. Trading event contracts involves risk of loss.

What you can and can’t bet on in Illinois

The Illinois Gaming Board decides which events and bet types are allowed, and leagues can petition it to remove specific markets. On February 8, 2024, after a petition from Major League Soccer, the IGB banned bets on whether a player will get a yellow or red card. Bets on whether a card will be shown at all in a soccer match went too. Expect leagues to keep using the same route when they see an integrity risk.

Chicago gives bettors the Bears, Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and Fire. Newer events, such as drone racing or robot combat, only appear if the IGB approves them and a book chooses to price them. Our US drone betting sites guide tracks where machine sports markets turn up.

How we rate Illinois betting apps

Every brand we cover has to be on the IGB’s own list first. After that, we look at five things, in this order:

• Pricing. We compare the margin built into common markets, such as NFL spreads and moneylines, by converting both sides to implied probability. A lower combined total means a fairer price.
• Market depth. Main lines are table stakes. We check alternate lines, player props, live betting and how many smaller sports and leagues each book carries.
• Promotion terms. We read the full terms, not the headline. Opt-in rules, minimum odds, expiry dates and whether a bonus bet’s stake comes back with the winnings matter more than the dollar figure.
• Banking. Deposit options, withdrawal methods and published processing times.
• Player protection. Deposit limits, time-outs, reality checks and how easy it is to find them.

We do not take payment to change a ranking, and we only show offer cards for brands we work with directly.

How to sign up at an Illinois sportsbook

1. Pick an authorized brand from the IGB list and download its app.
2. Register online with your legal name, date of birth, address and the last four digits of your Social Security number.
3. Allow location services so the app can confirm you are in Illinois.
4. Deposit, set your limits, and opt in to the welcome offer before your first bet.

Bet types on Illinois apps, and what the fee does to them

Illinois books offer the usual menu: moneylines, spreads, totals, parlays, same-game parlays, player props, live betting and futures. The per-wager fee hits small, frequent bets hardest. Ten $5 live bets can mean $5 in fees at a book that passes on the full 50 cents. One $50 bet means 50 cents. If you bet in Illinois, fewer and larger bets go further.

Geolocation in Illinois

Chicago’s suburbs run right up to Indiana and Wisconsin, and St. Louis-area bettors on the Metro East side sit across the river from Missouri. If your phone picks up an out-of-state tower, the app will block the bet. Turn on Wi-Fi and close any VPN.

Deposits and withdrawals at Illinois betting sites

Illinois sportsbooks typically accept debit cards, online bank transfers, PayPal and prepaid cards, and several let you deposit or withdraw cash at their partner casino. Withdrawal speeds and limits vary by operator and method.

Responsible gambling help in Illinois

Call 1-800-GAMBLER, the national helpline the Illinois Gaming Board points bettors to, for free, confidential support around the clock. The IGB runs a self-exclusion program that covers sports wagering, and the state’s Are You Really Winning? campaign points to free, state-funded treatment. Every licensed app offers deposit limits and time-outs in its settings.