
Is sports betting legal in Illinois? Yes, it is! What’s best is that you can enjoy IL sports betting online. Keep reading to see the best betting sites Illinois has to offer!
We’ve prepared an awesome list of Illinois sportsbooks so that you can find the perfect site. This means getting a sportsbook with anything from stunning Bears odds to a betting site with a special Bulls betting bonus. Sound good? Take a look below and see why IL online sports betting is so much fun!
Illinois is famous for its love of sports, and few states can match the glory of teams like the Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, and even the White Sox finally got their moment in the sun with their recent World Series win. As such, we’ve made sure that our sportsbook comparison is perfectly suited for all sports fans in the Prairie State. Or maybe you want to find the best horse racing sites or the best Formula 1 betting sites. We’ll help you find the right sportsbook for you and answer all your questions in our Illinois sports betting faq section.
We’ll help those brand new to sports betting find a sportsbook that makes it simple to put their first bets down. Plus, all seasoned pros will enjoy using our recommended sportsbooks, which have hundreds of advanced betting markets and cool features like live streaming. So whether you’re in Chicago, Joliet, Rockford, or Springfield, you’ll never be too far away from an awesome Illinois online sportsbook.
Don’t forget to check out our sports betting pages related to Chicago Blackhawks sportsbook promo codes and Chicago Bulls sportsbook promo codes.
Sports betting in Illinois became legal in March 2020, and its online counterpart was quick to follow, with the first online sports bets taking place in the summer of that year. While the arrival of legal sports betting was welcomed, it didn’t have the easiest of starts.
This is because the initial period saw sports fans having to register a sportsbook account by visiting the physical location of the partnered casino or sporting venue. For example, if you wanted to play at the DraftKings online sportsbook, you could have only registered an account in person at the Casino Queen outlet in East St Louis.
Thankfully, those arduous signing-up requirements have been abandoned. As long as you are over the age of 21 and are wagering within the state borders, you can legally sign up and start betting at any Illinois online sports betting site. So that you know, there is no requirement to be a resident of the Prairie State to bet online here.
The Illinois Gaming Board oversees the whole activity of sports betting. This organization has the power to distribute online gambling licenses and set the rules that all legit online sportsbooks in Illinois have to follow.
Such rules are broadly similar to what you get in other US states, meaning that you can legally bet on all professional, college-level, and international sporting events. The only thing that might catch some people out is that you cannot legally bet on non-sporting events such as elections or reality TV shows in Illinois. But if you want to bet on regular sports like football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, then Illinois is a great place to do it!
IL Sportsbook | Deposit Bonus | Promotion |
---|---|---|
BetMGM Illinois | BetMGM Illinois Bonus Code 2025 | 💰 First Bet offer up to $1,000 in bonus bets paid back if your first wager loses |
DraftKings Illinois | DraftKings Illinois Bonus Code 2025 | 💰 Get 20% up to $1000 |
FanDuel Illinois | FanDuel Illinois Bonus Code 2025 | 💰 $1000 No Sweat First Bet |
PointsBet Illinois | PointsBet Illinois Bonus Code 2025 | 💰 Get 2 risk-free bets up to $2,000 |
BetRivers wasn’t just the first online sportsbook to launch in Illinois. It’s also one of the best sports betting platforms you’ll find in the Land of Lincoln. The sportsbook was well known for serving up bets in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and so it wasn’t a massive surprise to find that BetRivers would be teaming up with Rivers Casino Des Plaines to treat Illinois sports fans to some great odds.
So as soon as you sign up to BetRivers Illinois, you’ll be able to get a tasty welcome that’ll double your first deposit. From here, you’ll be able to put that bonus to good use by wagering on seriously competitive odds for everything from the NBA and NFL to the MLB, NHL, and beyond. Plus, you can even participate in the Rush Rewards program to get a little extra back from all that real money wagering.
BetRivers is regulated by the Illinois Gaming Board, meaning it’ll have to provide a fair and safe betting service; otherwise, it would get its license revoked. Other important trust features include a variety of safe payment methods and quality customer support. All of this means that you should definitely sign up for BetRivers IL and try your luck! If you are not sure yet, check our William Hill sportsbook Illinois bonus review; we’ll convince you!
You can never be too careful when you bet online. After all, you’ll play with real money and give each site sensitive personal information. So here are five things you can do to stay safe while enjoying sports betting in Illinois.
One good thing about the internet is that it’s great for revealing when a sportsbook has been up to no good. So set aside some time to do some research into the reputation of the betting site that you are thinking of using. All of these should give you colorful insight into what other sports fans have experienced.
We’d always recommend only betting with money that you don’t mind losing because everyone will lose sooner or later. The good news is that most sportsbooks will give you a simple way to limit your deposits so that you don’t go chasing after your losses.
Only use the safest payment methods for making deposits and withdrawals. This means using recognized card brands like Visa and MasterCard or alternative payment options such as PayPal, ACH, or Play+.
All good online sportsbooks will have a lengthy privacy policy that explains how it looks after your personal data. It might be boring to read through, but at least you’ll see what kinds of encryption technology the sportsbook has to keep your data safe.
It might be obvious, but your best way of staying safe when sports betting in Illinois is to use one of our recommended online sportsbooks. After all, we’ve checked out each of these betting sites so you don’t have to.
We’ve already seen plenty of decent online sportsbooks coming to Illinois, and it looks like there are many more to come. Before we recommend each sportsbook, it must offer a fun, easy, and safe betting platform. Here are some of the key features that we look for in every Illinois sportsbook:
We know that there are many different kinds of sports fans in Illinois, and so we wanted to give you a few basic tips about finding your own perfect sportsbook. Each of our featured sportsbooks gets the basics right, but you should shop around these betting sites to see which is best for the following features:
Some sportsbooks go in deep to give you extra betting options for certain sports. So if you were a massive Chicago Bears fan, you’d want to play with a sportsbook that gave you hundreds of betting markets for each game. Likewise, F1 fans will want to find the best Formula 1 betting lines.
You’re going to lose a sports bet every now and then, so you may as well do some research to find a sportsbook with one of those losing bet deals. While the refund might come in the form of site credit, you’ll at least be able to try your luck again later on.
Legal sports betting in Illinois means betting from your mobile device. So make sure that the sportsbook you want to use has the best sports betting apps that you can use on the operating system of your smartphone or tablet.
It’s an exciting time to enjoy sports betting in Illinois. After all, sports betting in Prairie State has only been legalized for a few years, and many awesome online sportsbooks are competing for your attention. Plus, many new betting sites are lining up to open in Illinois, so you’ll need our help to ensure you find your perfect online sportsbook.
All of this means that it’s smart to return to this page to ensure that you don’t miss out on any unbeatable betting odds or bonuses. So keep it here to get the best Illinois sports betting experience possible!
Read our guide to see whether betting on sports online in Illinois is legal. After all, there have been many changes in the legislation regarding online gambling in Illinois in the past few years, and you’ll need to know whether you stand in regard to the law. So check out our guide to see whether Illinois has followed the likes of Indiana by legalizing online sports betting.
You can’t be the best online USA bookmaker unless you can take good care of your mobile customers. This is because people want to be able to bet on sports from the comfort of a smartphone or tablet. So please read our guide to the best IL sportsbooks where we examine what kinds of betting apps they have to offer. Perfect for seeing who has the best iOS and Android sports betting apps. Do not miss our mobile sports betting apps offerings!
You might know that Illinois has had a fairly complicated process for signing up for online sportsbooks in the state. This means that you might not be able to register a new customer account from your laptop or mobile. So please read our guide to see how you can sign up at an IL sportsbook. From here, you’ll be able to have fun playing with the best betting odds for NFL teams like the Bears.
Illinois has recently experienced many changes in how you gamble online. While online casino gaming is still illegal, there have been big developments regarding online sports betting. So although there might not be too much competition to be the best online casino in Illinois, it looks like things could be different for sports betting. Please read our guide to find out why.
Our US sports betting guide revealed that each state has the power to set its own gambling laws, which obviously impact the minimum age for sports betting. This means that some sports fans in Illinois might not be old enough to use an IL sportsbook. So make sure that you read our guide to sports betting in Illinois to see how old you have to be to bet on sports in the Prairie State.
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