It also legalized land-based and mobile sports betting and increased the number of VGTs, while raising the maximum bet on the machines.īecause of the new law, the number of gambling “positions” in the state - literally, seats where you can gamble, whether it be in a casino or bar - will almost double from 44,000 to nearly 80,000, transforming Illinois into the gambling capital of the Midwest.ĭespite the sweeping gambling expansion underway, Illinois has not regulated or licensed online casino gaming. The new legislation authorized a mega-casino in Chicago and five smaller regional casinos in the southern suburbs.
Then, in 2019 the state's Democratic governor JB Pritzker signed a massive gambling expansion package that was part of wider legislation that earmarked billions for investment in infrastructure. The next landmark piece of legislation was passed in 2009 when local bars and other similar venues were allowed to host video gaming terminals (VGTs) operated by the Illinois Lottery. In 1990, the Riverboat Gambling Act made it legal to run commercial casinos if they were located on boats operating outside of Lake Michigan and counties with populations of over three million people. Legal gambling in Illinois dates to the 1920s when the state authorized betting on horse races at local racetracks.
