Age Limit For Gambling In Illinois

 

Illinois is in the process of changing the laws surrounding gambling in the state, both on and offline.

While online casinos are still deemed illegal in the state, online sportsbooks have just started operating on mobile and desktop devices. If online sports betting does well for the state'seconomy, there is huge potential to expand online gambling in IL.

There are different ways you can gamble in the state offline, including racetracks and river casino boats.

  • As of Wednesday night, 4,804 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 1,063 patients were in the ICU and 575 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
  • USA – Illinois: Gambling Laws and Regulations 2021. ICLG - Gambling Laws and Regulations - USA – Illinois covers common issues in gambling laws and regulations – including relevant authorities and legislation, application for a licence, licence restrictions, digital media, enforcement and liability –.
  • What is the Minimum Age for Gambling in Illinois? The minimum age to gamble in Illinois is eighteen. If you are 18 or older, you can freely buy lottery tickets, bet on races, and engage in gambling.
  • Type of gambling Minimum age Relevant sections of the Act Gambling in casinos or other licensed gambling premises It is illegal to permit any person under the age of 18 to enter a licensed gambling premises. The only exception is licensed family entertainment centres. 18: 46, 47, 48 and 49 Gaming machine (Machine category: A, B1, B2, B3, B3A.

The new bill that was introduced in 2019 permitted land-based casinos to start operating in specific areas in IL, however, none have been able to open their doors just yet. This is due to thedelay caused by the Illinois Gaming Board who has yet to give a response to the riverboats that have applied for the license.

The vetting process has now taken a year, with the IGB expected to make a decision in the next few weeks. There are currently nine casino applicants.

Read more about the gambling laws in IL, the current status of land-based casinos, and when you can expect to be playing at an IL online casino, in our guide below.

Illinois Online Casinos

Although Illinois has a long tradition with some great riverboat casinos and a long history with gambling, it has not legalized online casinos just yet. There have been discussions oflegalizing online casinos, but it has not yet been approved by the senate.

A bill that was introduced in 2019 did legalize online sports betting and saw FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetRivers launch online sportsbooks in the state. It also allowed riverboat casinosto start applying for licenses to operate on land. But we'll get into that later.

Age Limit For Gambling In Illinois Unemployment

FanDuel may limit the amount a user can deposit into his or her account in accordance with state-imposed deposit limits. In cases where you have participated in a promotion to receive a bonus or other benefit, you may be required to play through your deposit (by entering contests) whose total entry fees equal the value of the deposit to receive.

For now, if you want to play at an online casino, you'll need to take a trip up to nearby Michigan.

But, you can still register with a legal online casino while you're in Illinois. That means you can get the casino's bonus offers or deposit, and then play whenever you're in stateswhere it's legal.

Land-Based Casinos in Illinois

Unlike Mississippi casinos, not all of the casinos in Illinois are open 24 hours, and Illinois casino laws limit the number of gaming licenses to 10. Up until2019, all casinos in IL had to operate as a riverboat casino.

Now, riverboat casinos are in the process of purchasing licenses to be able to operate on land.

There are five casinos in Illinois near Chicago, two casinos towards the center of the state, and three casinos in southern Illinois.

See our Chicago casinos section for more details on the five properties, as well as details on some casinos in Indiana that are within a short drive of Chicago.

All casinos in Illinois are non-smoking and, unless otherwise noted, all offer slots, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, and three-card poker.

Some Illinois casinos also offer: let it ride, baccarat, mini-baccarat, poker, Ultimate Texas hold 'em, Caribbean stud poker, Mississippi stud, pai gow poker, and four card poker.

The payback percentages on electronic gaming machines at all Illinois casinos are released as a matter of public record. Just click here to see a list of slot machine payback statistics for all Illinois casinos.

Types of Casinos in Illinois

There are two types of casino in IL; riverboats and pari-mutuel. While riverboat casinos are in the middle of a lengthy process trying to obtain a license to operate as a land-basedcasino, pari-mutuel betting has started to fade into the background.

There have been proposals on bringing slot games into the racetracks, however, have continuously been turned down.

Riverboat Casinos

All of the casinos in Illinois are riverboat casinos. Illinois was the second state to legalize riverboat gambling and the boats began operating in September 1991 with the launching of thefirst boat: the Alton Belle.

Seven of the riverboat casinos in Illinois are either on boats or on docked barges. These Illinois casinos remain dockside and do not cruise. The other three casinos: Rivers in DesPlaines, Jumer's in Rock Island, and the Casino Queen in East. St. Louis, are all land-based casinos.

Interestingly, however, they all qualify as being riverboat casinos because they are all built over a shallow pit filled with a few inches of water.

Pari-mutuel Casinos

Horse racing has been extremely popular in IL, especially in the 1930s to 80s. Unfortunately, the industry doesn't have nearly as close to as big of a turnout at the tracks today.

Still, there are three major horse tracks in Illinois:

  • Fairmount Park - Collinsville
  • Arlington Park - Arlington Heights
  • Hawthorne Race Course - Cicero

All three tracks offer thoroughbred racing and stream every race to viewers across the United States.

Dog racing is illegal in the state of Illinois.

List of Land-Based Casinos in Illinois












Ameristar East Chicago

  • 777 Aldis Ave, East Chicago, IN 46312
  • 1 (219) 378-3000
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Spanish 21, Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud, Poker

Argosy Casino Alton

  • 1 Piasa St, Alton, IL 62002
  • 1 (618) 474-7500
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold 'em

Blue Chip Casino & Hotel

  • 777 Blue Chip Dr, Michigan City, IN 46360
  • 1 (219) 879-7711
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three Card Poker, Mississippi Stud, Ultimate Texas Hold 'em, Poker

Casino Queen

  • 200 S Front St, East St Louis, IL 62201
  • 1 (618) 874-5000
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em

Grand Victoria Casino Elgin

Illinois
  • 250 S Grove Ave, Elgin, IL 60120
  • 1 (847) 468-7000
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Poker

Harrah's Joliet

  • 151 N Joliet St, Joliet, IL 60432
  • 1 (815) 740-7800
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, Mississippi Stud, Poker

Harrah's Metropolis

  • 100 E Front St, Metropolis, IL 62960
  • 1 (618) 524-2628
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud
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Hollywood Casino Aurora

  • 1 W New York St, Aurora, IL 60506
  • 1 (630) 801-7000
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Mississippi Stud, Poker

Hollywood Casino Joliet

  • 777 Hollywood Blvd, Joliet, IL 60436
  • 1 (815) 744-9400
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Mississippi Stud

Horseshoe Casino Hammond

  • 777 Casino Center Dr, Hammond, IN 46320
  • 1 (219) 473-7000
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Three Card Poker, Let it Ride, Poker, Big Six Wheel, Pai Gow, Baccarat, Mississippis Stud

Jumer's Casino & Hotel

  • 777 Jumer Dr, Rock Island, IL 61201, United States
  • 1 (309) 756-4600
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Mississippi Stud, Poker

Majestic Star Casino & Hotel

  • 1 Buffington Harbor Dr, Gary, IN 46406
  • 1 (219) 977-7777
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Spanish 21, Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Big 6 Wheel, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Let It Ride, Poker,Mississippi Stud

Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino

Illinois Gambling Tax

  • 21 Blackjack Blvd, East Peoria, IL 61611
  • 1 (309) 698-7711
  • Games Offered: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Mini-Baccarat, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three-Card Poker, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud, Poker, Big Six Wheel

Rivers Casino - Des Plaines

  • 3000 S River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018
  • 1 (847) 795-0777
  • Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Mini-Baccarat, Baccarat, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three Card Poker, Pai Gow Poker, Spanish 21, Texas Hold'em Bonus, Mississippi Stud

Illinois Land-Based Casinos Map

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Online Gambling In Illinois

Illinois gambling board

In the U.S., we have two major milestone birthdays that take place within 3 years of each other: 18 and 21. At age 18, a person is considered a legal adult and can vote, play the lottery, and join the armed forces. At age 21, a person can legally drink and buy alcohol and patronize casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. But in many states, people can gamble at age 18—and there’s no better place to host a milestone birthday than a local casino. Here’s a roundup of the various states and their restrictions regarding 18 and over casinos.

Illinois Gambling News

Pari-mutuel betting

Pari-mutuel betting is a type of wager where the final payout is determined after all bets are made, which is different from the fixed odds offered by casinos. The most popular type of pari-mutuel betting is off-track betting facilities. When you bet on horse races, all bets are pooled together and the house takes its fee. Once betting closes, the payouts are finalized based on how much money is in the pool and the results of the event. States that allow pari-mutuel betting for people aged 18 and over include:

  • Arkansas
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Indiana
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • New Mexico
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Washington

Bingo

Anyone can participate in a few rounds of bingo at the local church, but most casino bingo halls have an age limit to gamble. States that allow people age 18 and up to play bingo in a casino include:

  • Connecticut
  • Florida
  • New Mexico
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Wisconsin

Mixed age limits

Some states allow gambling for ages 18 and up or 21 and up, some depending on the particular casino, others depending on the particular casino game. For example, Florida allows those 18 and up to gamble on pari-mutuels, bingo, and poker, but has an age minimum of 21 for slots. States with mixed age limits include:

Video Gambling Illinois

  • Florida
  • New York
  • Oklahoma
  • Washington
  • California

Age 18+ welcome

A few states welcome anyone age 18 and older to gamble at local casinos, including California (with a few exceptions). California is home to casinos in over 100 cities—the largest number by far in the U.S., exceeding even the number found in Nevada. Southern California alone boasts two dozen cities with casinos, including Campo, which is home to Golden Acorn Casino! States that allow gambling at the age of 18 include:

  • Alaska
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Wyoming
  • California (with a few exceptions)

Celebrate your 18th at Golden Acorn Casino

Sports Gambling In Illinois

If you’re looking for the best place to celebrate your birthday at one of the 18 and over casinos near San Diego, come see us at Golden Acorn Casino. We offer hundreds of slot machines and dozens of table games to choose from, and we’re conveniently located right off the I-8, about an hour away from downtown San Diego. And who knows, maybe your wish for a big jackpot will come true when you blow out your candles!

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