Illinois Sports Betting: Best IL Sportsbooks & Betting Apps (October, 2026)
Illinois sports betting is legal and live statewide, and anyone 21 or older located in the state can sign up today. With 10 licensed online sportsbooks, Illinois is one of the largest betting markets in the country. Keep reading for the best Illinois sportsbooks, current IL sportsbook promos, and the latest on sports betting in Illinois.
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Best Illinois Sportsbooks & Betting Apps
Illinois sports betting launched with retail sportsbooks in March 2020, and online betting followed in June 2020. Today there are 10 legal sports betting apps in Illinois: BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics, bet365, Caesars, BetRivers, theScore Bet, Hard Rock Bet, and Circa Sports. Many of the best IL sportsbooks offer exclusive LINEUPS.com promo codes with welcome bonuses for new users. Anyone 21+ and physically located in Illinois can sign up online and start placing wagers. To see how Illinois compares to the rest of the country, check out our guide to where sports betting is legal in the US.
Illinois bettors have plenty of home teams to back. NBA betting on the Chicago Bulls is one of the most popular markets in the state, alongside the Bears in the NFL, the Blackhawks in the NHL, and the Cubs and White Sox in MLB. This guide covers the best Illinois betting apps, current promos, taxes and fees, and how to bet legally in the Land of Lincoln.
Best Illinois Sports Betting Sites
There are currently 10 legal sports betting sites in Illinois, including major operators such as BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics, and bet365. Lineups evaluates sportsbooks based on criteria such as security, game diversity, customer service, promotions, payout speed, and banking options. Here is our list of the best IL sports betting sites based on those factors.
1. BetMGM Sportsbook App IL
BetMGM Illinois bonus code BETLINEUPS leads to a first-bet bonus of up to $1,500. Register, deposit, and place your first bet to qualify for 100% of any potential losses back in bonus bets. Any bonus bets must be used within seven days.
BetMGM Sportsbook Illinois officially launched on March 5, 2022. The sportsbook is very popular across the U.S. thanks to its numerous weekly promotions and approachable design. It went live on the same day that online registration returned to the Land of Lincoln. The sportsbook partnered with Par-A-Dice Casino and Hotel in East Peoria, a popular location for Illinois sports bettors. Now that the BetMGM Sportsbook is available in Illinois and online registration is fully available, you can sign up from the comfort of your home.
2. FanDuel Sportsbook Mobile IL
The FanDuel Illinois welcome offer is simple: Bet $5, Get $350 in Bonus Bets Across 5 Days. Sign up, make a deposit, and place a qualifying wager of $5 or more to unlock the bonus. Get the full terms on our FanDuel promo code page.
FanDuel Sportsbook launched its Illinois app on Aug. 28, 2020, initially through a partnership with Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria. It was the third online sportsbook in the state and is now one of the two biggest operators in Illinois by handle and revenue.
3. Fanatics Sportsbook IL
New customers can claim the Fanatics Illinois welcome bonus of up to $1,000 in FanCash. Place a bet each day for 10 days and Fanatics matches it 100% in FanCash, up to $100 per day. There is no code needed; just use this Fanatics Illinois promo link to get started.
The Fanatics Sportsbook app is known for being lightning quick, super intuitive and impressively displayed. Having the extra appeal of FanCash, virtual currency earned with every bet, makes betting with Fanatics that much sweeter. FanCash can be traded for bonus bets or merchandise at the Fanatics Store.
4. DraftKings Sportsbook IL
New users can claim the DraftKings Illinois welcome bonus: spend $5 or more and get $200 in bonus bets, paid out over 14 days. Click the DraftKings Illinois promo link to get started, or read our full DraftKings promo code review.
DraftKings launched its Illinois app in August 2020, becoming the second online sportsbook in the state after BetRivers. Its retail partner is DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Today, DraftKings leads the Illinois market in total handle.
5. bet365 Sportsbook IL
New users in Illinois can use the bet365 bonus code LINEUPSBET when registering for an account to claim a bet $10, get $200 in bonus bets for new customers. After signing up and making a deposit, place a $10 wager to claim $200 in bonus bets, win or lose, plus any winnings from the original wager.
The minimum deposit for all new users to bet365 is $10. If asked to provide a promo code, enter LINEUPSBET.
bet365 launched in Illinois on March 13, 2025, becoming the state’s 10th online sportsbook. Learn more on our bet365 bonus code page.
Is Online Sports Betting Legal in Illinois?
Yes. Online sports betting in Illinois is legal for anyone 21 or older. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Sports Wagering Act into law on June 28, 2019, and the first legal bet was placed at Rivers Casino Des Plaines on March 9, 2020. BetRivers became the first online sportsbook in June 2020, with DraftKings and FanDuel following in August 2020. Illinois online casinos, on the other hand, are not yet legal, though lawmakers continue to debate iGaming bills.
From 2020 until early 2022, Illinois at times required new users to register in person at a casino before betting online. That requirement ended for good on March 5, 2022, so you can now sign up for any Illinois sportsbook entirely online.
Illinois Sports Betting | Mobile Apps Live in IL | Devices |
|---|---|---|
| BetMGM Sportsbook Illinois | Live March 5, 2022 | Apple, Android |
| FanDuel Sportsbook Illinois | Live Aug. 28, 2020 | Apple, Android |
| Fanatics Sportsbook Illinois | Live Aug. 1, 2024 | Apple, Android |
| DraftKings Sportsbook Illinois | Live Aug. 5, 2020 | Apple, Android |
| Bet365 Sportsbook illinois | Live March 16, 2025 | Apple, Android |
| BetRivers Sportsbook | Live Aug. 28, 2020 | Apple, Android |
| Caesars Sportsbook | Live Sept, 12, 2020 | Apple, Android |
| Online Registration Start Date | March 5th, 2022 | Apple, Android |
Illinois Sports Betting News and Updates
- May 2026: Illinois sportsbooks took $1.14 billion in handle and $118.9 million in adjusted revenue, with DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics leading the market.
- Feb. 6, 2026: Rep. Daniel Didech filed HB 5143, a bill to repeal the state's per-wager sports betting tax.
- January 2026: Fanatics Sportsbook moved its Illinois online license tether from Hawthorne Race Course to Argosy Casino Alton.
- Dec. 1, 2025: ESPN Bet rebranded as theScore Bet in Illinois and other states.
- 2025: Illinois sportsbooks took more than $15.5 billion in total handle for the year.
- Aug. 20, 2025: PENN Entertainment signed a multiyear deal to become an official sports betting partner of the Chicago Bears.
- July 1, 2025: Illinois began charging sportsbooks a per-wager tax of 25 cents per bet on the first 20 million bets, and 50 cents per bet after that.
- March 13, 2025: bet365 launched as the 10th online sportsbook in Illinois.
How to Bet on Sports in Chicago, Illinois
Retail sports betting in Illinois launched on March 9, 2020, and online betting has been available since June 2020. Today, 10 online sportsbooks operate in the state, including the biggest names in the industry.If you live in Chicago or are looking to bet from any city in Illinois, here are five steps you need to take to bet on sports in the state.
Research Illinois Sportsbooks
The first thing you want to do is research all of the available sportsbooks in Illinois. With more than $15.5 billion wagered in 2025, Illinois is one of the largest sports betting markets in the country, so you have plenty of options.
You can find reviews of each sportsbook on Lineups.com, as we offer full reviews of the best bonuses and apps out there.
You will be spending money at this site, and it has to be a site that you trust and feel comfortable with.
Click through our links or banners to take advantage of the biggest promotions
Now that you have done your research on the sports betting apps available in Illinois, it is time to choose one. We can help you out with that by providing you with a link to the best promotions offered from the sportsbook.
Below is our list of Illinois sportsbooks, ranked. Each one links to a detailed review of that sportsbook’s current promo. Be sure to check out each offer before choosing a site.
Download the Mobile App
The next step is to download the app for your chosen sportsbook. All Illinois sports betting apps are free to download. It is wise to download multiple mobile apps to give yourself some variety when making bets.
All of the sportsbooks in Illinois provide download links right on their website, and they are all available for download on both Android and iOS devices.
After you have downloaded the sportsbook app, you will have to verify your name, age, and location. Location services must be enabled when using the mobile app so that you can place bets in the state.
Make a Deposit
After you have chosen a sportsbook and have taken advantage of the bonus offer, it is time to make a deposit. Sportsbooks offer different deposit methods, but there are usually some similarities as well.
Most Illinois sportsbooks accept debit cards, online banking (ACH), PayPal, and other e-wallets. Illinois regulators have moved to ban credit card deposits for sports betting, so plan on using a debit card or bank transfer.
Place a Bet
If you have made it this far, then you are ready for the final step. You are ready to explore the sportsbook to find games you wish to bet on.
All you have to do for this step is select a game and make a betting pick. You will be asked how much money you want to wager, and then you submit ypur bet.
Your bet is in, and you can now sit back and enjoy the games.
Illinois Retail Sportsbooks
Illinois has plenty of retail sportsbooks for bettors who prefer to wager in person. Rivers Casino Des Plaines took the state's first legal bet in March 2020, and other options include Caesars Sportsbook at Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis, FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing in Collinsville, Hard Rock Casino Rockford, and PENN's Hollywood Casinos in Aurora and Joliet. While mobile betting now accounts for the vast majority of handle, some bettors still prefer the atmosphere of a brick-and-mortar sportsbook.
Illinois Physical Sportsbooks | Legal Sportsbooks in IL Launch |
|---|---|
| DraftKings Sportsbook at Queen | August 2020 |
| FanDuel Sportsbook at Par-A-Dice | August 2020 |
| William Hill Sportsbook at Grand Victoria | September 2020 |
| BetRivers Sportsbook at Rivers Casino | March 2020 |
| PointsBet Sportsbook at Hawthorne Race Course | March 2020 |
| Barstool Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino | October 2020 |
| Updated |
Illinois Sports Betting Taxes and Fees
Illinois is one of the most expensive states in the country for sportsbooks. An online-only sports wagering license costs $20 million, and since July 2024 operators have paid a graduated tax on adjusted gross revenue that starts at 20% and climbs to 40% for operators with more than $200 million in annual revenue. Chicago also adds its own 10.25% tax on bets placed in the city.
On July 1, 2025, Illinois added a per-wager tax of 25 cents on each of an operator's first 20 million bets per year and 50 cents on every bet after that. Many sportsbooks pass that cost on to bettors. As of early 2026, FanDuel and DraftKings charged a $0.50 fee per bet, Fanatics and Caesars charged $0.25, and others such as BetMGM, BetRivers, and Hard Rock Bet raised their minimum wagers instead. A bill to repeal the per-wager tax (HB 5143) was filed in February 2026.
Fees and minimum bets can change, so always check your sportsbook's terms before you wager.
Illinois Sports Betting Timeline
Gov. J.B. Pritzker legalized sports betting on June 28, 2019, as part of a larger capital bill passed during an extended session of the General Assembly. The law allows both retail and statewide mobile betting. However, online-only operators could not launch on their own until 18 months after the first retail bet unless they partnered with a casino or other master licensee. This was the state's way of giving local casinos a head start on national brands like FanDuel and DraftKings.
Before the current bill passed, there were a few others that Illinois considered since the PASPA decision in 2018. The first bill was HB4214. HB4214 was actually introduced prior to the PASPA ruling. In January of 2018, HB4214 was introduced by Representative Lou Lang. The bill was merely an attempt for Illinois to begin a discussion on the issue of legal sports betting.
A few more bills were introduced between Lang’s HB4214 and the bill that Pritzker signed into law. The most notable of those was perhaps SB3432. This bill was introduced in February of 2018 by former NFL player Napolean Harris. Senator Harris’ bill was the first, and only, in the state that included the highly debated “integrity fee” that the major sporting leagues were seeking from each state that legalized sports betting.
SB3432 would have allowed for sports betting to operate at facilities authorized under the Riverboat Gambling Act. It also would have allowed for both in-person and mobile betting. Taxes were set at 12.5% of gross sports wagering revenue. The bill eventually died in January 2019.
The bill that Pritzker eventually signed into law, SB690, was an 816-page bill with a $45 billion infrastructure plan. Aside from legalizing sports betting, the bill also called for six new casinos in the state, among other things.
One notable aspect of sports betting in Illinois is the “bad actor” clause. This is the clause that kept the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings out of Illinois for at least 18 months. This penalty period allowed local casinos to get a leg up on the online giants. Out-of-state providers were allowed to partner with in-state racetracks, casinos, or sporting venues during the 18-month period. After that, online operators were allowed to operate independently. An online-only sports wagering license in Illinois costs $20 million.
For a time, bettors were required to visit a casino in person to open an online betting account. That rule ended on March 5, 2022, and Illinois sports bettors can now register for any sportsbook online from the comfort of their homes.
Sports Betting in States Near Illinois
Illinois was not the first state in the region to legalize sports betting. Iowa sports betting launched in August 2019, and Indiana sports betting went live in September 2019. Michigan launched online betting in January 2021, Kentucky followed in September 2023, and Missouri sports betting went live on Dec. 1, 2025. Wisconsin only allows in-person betting at tribal casinos.
For years, Missouri residents in the St. Louis area crossed the river to bet in Illinois. With Missouri now live, those bettors have legal options at home, while Wisconsin residents still need to cross the state line to bet online.
Despite a slow start and some of the highest sportsbook taxes in the country, Illinois remains the No. 2 sports betting market in the US by handle, trailing only New York. Browse more state sports betting guides or compare current offers on our sportsbook promos page.
Illinois Sports Betting FAQ
Yes. Mobile betting apps are legal in Illinois for anyone 21 or older who is located in the state, and you can register for any Illinois sportsbook directly from your phone. Apps are available on both iOS and Android.
There are 10 legal online sportsbooks in Illinois: BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics, bet365, Caesars, BetRivers, theScore Bet, Hard Rock Bet, and Circa Sports.
Yes. New DraftKings users who spend $5 or more get $200 in bonus bets, paid out over 14 days.
Illinois already has one of the most crowded markets in the US with 10 online sportsbooks. New operators need approval from the Illinois Gaming Board, and the state’s high taxes and $20 million online license fee make entering the market expensive.
Many do. Illinois charges sportsbooks a per-wager tax of 25 to 50 cents per bet, and several operators pass that cost on through per-bet fees or higher minimum wagers. Check your sportsbook’s terms for current fees.
Yes. You can still place bets in person at retail sportsbooks across Illinois, as long as you are 21 or older.
You can bet on all the major leagues in Illinois, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, soccer, golf, and college sports. However, you cannot bet on Illinois college teams, online or in person.
BetMGM offers one of the largest welcome bonuses in Illinois, with up to $1,500 in bonus bets if your first bet does not win. FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics, and bet365 also offer strong welcome bonuses for new users.
Yes, but with limits. You can bet on college sports in Illinois, but wagers on college teams based in the state, such as the University of Illinois and Loyola Chicago, are prohibited both online and in person. Player props on college athletes are also not allowed.
PENN Entertainment, which operates theScore Bet and Hollywood Casinos in Aurora and Joliet, signed a multiyear deal in August 2025 to become an official sports betting partner of the Chicago Bears.
