Land-Based Gambling In Illinois
Illinois has regulated a number of land gambling forms, as a result of which, residents can legally place real money bets on the outcomes of casino games, horse races, poker, and lottery games. Although the state has not yet legalized online gambling, none of its laws prohibit residents from gambling online at offshore gaming sites.
This page lists out various land gambling options for Illinois residents. Besides presenting brief lists of horse betting, casino gaming, and poker gaming options for Illinois residents, we have also dealt with the legalities of gambling at offshore online gambling sites and the various advantages of doing so.
Illinois has regulated land-based casino gaming in its jurisdiction, and it is legal for residents to play their favorite casino games for real money at riverboat casinos and other gambling facilities licensed and regulated by the state. However, operating an illegal casino gaming business or taking part in casino games held in illegal gambling establishments is against the law. Residents should therefore make sure to gamble only in licensed casino gaming facilities.
Illinois is home to a number of licensed riverboat casinos, which not only offer great casino games such as slots, video pokers, poker, blackjack, baccarat, roulette, and others, but also other facilities such as cruises, fine cuisine, and so on. Some of the best casinos in Illinois are Casino Queen in East St. Louis, Harrah’s Joilet, Harrah’s Metropolis, Hollywood Casino Aurora, Grand Victoria Casino Elgin, Hollywood Casino Joilet, Argosy’s Alton Belle Casino, Rivers Casino, Par-A-Dice Casino, and Jumer’s Casino and Hotel. Residents need to be at least 21 years to play for real money at these facilities.
Illinois poker players can be often heard to complain that the state doesn’t offer as many poker gaming options as they would like. While playing poker for real money is perfectly legal in licensed casinos, only a handful of riverboat casinos actually operate poker games.
Poker enthusiasts can play real money poker legally in licensed Illinois casinos such as Hollywood Casino in Aurora. Since Illinois gambling laws do not provide an exemption for social gambling, playing home poker games is risky. But players can legally take part in a charity poker tournament held by a licensed charitable organization.
A handful of state as well as federal laws prevent the state from legalizing sports betting, both land-based and online. Bookies do operate on the sly, but it is risky for players to place bets with such unlicensed bookies. There are no legal land-based sports betting facilities in Illinois. Besides, the state has laws that prevent companies from running online bookie businesses in its jurisdiction.
Since Illinois has no laws specifically criminalizing the act of sports betting online, residents can legally bet on sports online at offshore online bookies that accept them. Fortunately, there is no dearth of offshore online bookies accepting Illinois residents. Since they are based in offshore countries, Illinois gambling laws do not apply to them and the state cannot prosecute them for accepting its residents.
Horse betting is one of the forms of land gambling that Illinois has legalized and regulated. The state’s licensed race tracks offer pari-mutuel betting facilities, enabling residents to bet on horse racing events in a regulated environment.
Some of the best licensed racing tracks in Illinois are the Balmoral Crest in Crete, Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, and Maywood Park in Melrose Park. In the absence of any online racebook laws in the state, it is legal for residents to wager on local, national, as well as international horse racing events at offshore online racebooks.
The advantages of online gambling are many. Regulated + legalized online gambling in Illinois is something that would eliminate the need to travel all the way to land-gambling facilities and enables players to wager and win money in the comforts of home. Besides, legal Illinois gambling sites offer something that land gambling facilities never do—large bonuses and free games.
Although Illinois offers a number of regulated land-gambling options, it cannot offer residents the joys of placing bets online although it is trying its best to legalize some forms of online gambling at present. One of the gambling laws in Illinois definitely criminalizes the running of online gambling businesses in the state. But there is no law to prevent residents from gambling at the offshore online gambling sites we have listed on this website.
