There are no tribal casinos in the state. The new Illinois sports betting law allows for statewide retail and online sports betting at casinos, racetracks, off-track betting parlors, and venues that house professional sports in Illinois. It was a very exciting day when sports betting became legal in Illinois. Nine months later, on the eve of the COVID-19-related shutdown of professional sports across the U.S., the first legal wager in Illinois was placed on March 9, 2020, at Rivers Casino, owned by Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive.
The bill, SB 690, checks in at more than 900 pages, and sports betting, which initially had stood on its own, was wrapped into it to get it passed during an extended legislative session. After a contentious negotiation process, Illinois lawmakers finally pushed legal sports betting through the state legislature as part of a massive capital bill on June 3, 2019.
