Illinois casinos will be licensed to operate in six cities under legislatioin passed in 2019. There are currently ten riverboat casinos and no Native American casinos in the state.
Native American Owned Casinos
Two of the six new casinos will be owned by Native American tribes. The Hard Rock Casino in Rockford is owned by the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida and the Wind Creek Chicago Southland in the Homewood/East Hazel Crest area is owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama. These two casinos will operate as commercial casinos under Illinois laws rather than as Indian gaming casinos under federal regulation.
The Rebuild Illinois Law enacted in June 2019 authorizes six new casinos to be built in the following cities:
Chicago: Bally's in River West
Danville: Golden Nugget Danville
Rockford: Hard Rock Casino Rockford
South Suburbs: Wind Creek Chicago Southland
Walker's Bluff: Walker's Bluff Casino Resort
Waukegan: American Place
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Waukegan's "The Temporary" casino opens Oct-Dec 2022
June 30, 2022 -
During construction of the American Place Waukegan, an interim casino will operate 24/7 with 1,000 slot machines, 50 table games, three restaurants and a bar located inside a
... Read more
American Place Waukegan Update - June 2022
June 23, 2022 -
American Place will open a temporary casino later this year, which will operate for the duration of the construction of the permanent American Place Waukegan. The temporary casino will be named "The
... Read more
Wind Creek Chicago Southland celebrates groundbreaking
June 11, 2022 -
Last week a formal groundbreaking ceremony was celebrated by Wind Creek officials, Poarch Creek Indian leaders, and local officials marking the official start of construction
... Read more
Hard Rock Casino Rockford prepares for groundbreaking
May 26, 2022 -
Hard Rock Casino Rockford is preparing to break ground on a permanent casino soon at the site of the old Clock Tower. The new construction will include a casino and a 250-room hotel.
... Read more
Hard Rock Casino Rockford expedites hotel build
May 15, 2022 -
Hard Rock now plans to build a 250-room hotel concurrently with the construction of its casino. The original plan was to build the hotel a few years after opening the casino. The first phase was to build only
... Read more
Chicago casino selection is announced by Mayor
May 6, 2022 -
Yesterday the final selection for the first Chicago casino was announced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The winning bidder is Bally's in River West. Hard Rock Casino Hotel and Rivers at The 78 had been been
... Read more
Danville breaks ground on new casino today
April 19, 2022 -
A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled today in Danville, Illinois for the new Golden Nugget Danville casino. Construction is expected to be completed in less than a year with a grand opening in March 2024.
... Read more
Headlines continued...
Minimum gambling ages are 21 years old for casinos, 21 for poker, 18 for bingo, 21 for sports betting, 18 for horse racing, 18 for the lottery.
June 29, 2019
When Gov. Pritzker sign the Rebuild Illinois Act into law June 29, 2019, a massive gambling expansion was launched in Illinois.
The law legalizes sports betting, authorizes six new land-based casinos, authorizes casino gambling at all three horse tracks and two future tracks, allows 7,000 video gambling machines at locations across the state, and adds 5,000 sports betting kiosks at retail locations with lottery kiosks.
For details, see our news article below, Illinois Authorizes Sports Betting & Six New Casinos
In February 1990 Illinois became the second state in the nation to legalize riverboat gambling when the state legislature enacted the Riverboat Gambling Act authorizing the Illinois Gaming Board to issue up to ten casino licenses.
You must be 21 years of age to enter the gambling areas of an Illinois casino.
The Riverboat Gambling Act requires that all casino wagering must use tokens, chips or electronic cards. No cash. Each casino is authorized up to operate 1,200 gaming positions. Casinos may have two vessels at one docksite, but cannot have more than 1,200 gaming positions between both vessels.
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Illinois Casino List | Illinois Casino List by City |
|---|---|
Argosy Casino Alton Casino Queen and Hotel Grand Victoria Casino Elgin Harrah's Joliet Casino and Hotel Harrah's Metropolis Casino Hollywood Casino Aurora Hollywood Casino Joliet Jumer's Casino and Hotel Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino Rivers Casino |
ALTON AURORA DES PLAINES EAST PEORIA EAST SAINT LOUIS ELGIN JOLIET Hollywood Casino Joliet METROPOLIS ROCK ISLAND |
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October 25, 2019
Illinois has authorized six new casinos to be licensed and built under the Rebuild Illinois Act signed into law by Gov. Pritzker on June 29, 2019. The six locations for these new casinos are Chicago, Danvillle, Rockford, South Suburbs, Walker's Bluff and Waukegan.
Casino applicants have submitted proposals to local governments for review and approval. All approved proposals will be forwarded this week to the Illinois Gaming Board for final approval and licensing. The Board may take up to one year to complete the process.
Among the many casino applicants are five Native American tribes which all own successful casino operations in other states. In Illinois they are seeking to build state-licensed commercial casinos rather than federally authorized Indian gaming casinos.
These are the tribes that have submitted casino proposals:
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has proposed a $300 million casino hotel in Matteson Village, a south suburb of Chicago. (See story)
Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin has proposed building a $300 million commercial casino and hotel on land it owns in Lynwood, Illinois, south of Chicago. (See story)
Seminole Tribe of Florida owns Hard Rock International, which has been approved by the Rockford City Council to build a $310 million casino hotel. (See story)
Potawatomi of Forest County, Wisconsin, has proposed building a casino in the City of Waukegan, Illinnois. (See story)
Poarch Creek Indians of Alabama, and owners of Wind Creek Hospitality has proposed building a $275 million casino about 26 miles south of Chicago in the communities of East Hazel Crest and Homewood. (See story)
Back Full Page > Illinois Casinos | Updates 2022
Illinois Authorizes Sports Betting & Six New CasinosJune 29, 2019
Courtesy of State Journal Register
Gambling has been greatly expanded in Illinois after a $45B infrastructure plan was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker yesterday.
The new law named "Rebuild Illinois" is designed to create 540,000 new jobs from state-financed construction projects for transportation, education, high-speed internet, healthcare and the environment.
The Rebuild Illinois Law will be paid for by new revenues from expanded gambling, a 19-cents hike in the state gasoline tax, and $1 more tax on a pack of cigarettes.
The new revenues from gambling will come from legalization of sports betting and licensing fees and tax revenues from six new casinos.
SPORTS BETTING
Illinois Gaming Board will licensee and regulate all sports betting within the state. The type of license and its rules for operation will be based on the business of the applicant. Upon licensing all successful applicant may immediately operate their sports book online.
Licenses for "brick and mortar" businesses will be issued to all qualified casinos, racinos and sports venues with over 17,000 spectator seats.
All wagering accounts must be set up at a licensed sport book facility during the first 18 months.
Three online licenses will be issued to web operators. The first will be issued after 18 months of brick and mortar operation.
The Illinois Lottery will install and operate sports betting terminals at retail locations with lottery kiosks. There will be 2,500 lottery sports betting terminals in the first year and another 2,5000 terminals added in the second year.
The state has prohibited betting on Illinois college teams.
NEW CASINOS
Under the new law the total number of state-sponsored gambling positions is increased by 36,000 on top of the existing 44,000. These "gambling positions" are defined as seats to place a bet. New casinos will be allowed up to 2,000 positions.
The Illinois Gaming Board will issue gaming licenses to six new casinos. Each will be a privately-owned, land-based casino regulated by the gaming board.
A maximum number of gambling positions is specified under this law for each of the six new casinos:
Chicago
Maximum 4,000 gambling positions
Danville
Maximum 2,000 gambling positions
Rockford
Maximum 2,000 gambling positions
South Suburbs
Maximum 2,000 gambling positions
Walker's Bluff
Maximum 1,200 gambling positions
Waukegan
Maximum 2,000 gambling positions
RACINOS (Racetrack Casinos)
The three Illinois horsetracks will be licensed to add casino games. Two new racinos are allowed under the new law. The number of live racing dates will be increased at each track.
VIDEO GAMING MACHINES
The Illinois Gaming Board will license up to 7,000 video gambling machines at independent locations across the state. The maximum number of terminals is 5 per location. Bets are limited to $2 to $4.
Back Full Page > Illinois Casinos | Updates 2022
May 28, 2018
Possibly six new casinos could be developed in the state if a proposed gaming expansion measure is approved by Illinois lawmakers. On Monday the measure will be discussed by the Illinois House Executive Committee.
It is expected that the proposed measure will receive approval to move forward. The measure would allow for two horse racing tracks to be converted into a casino. One of the race tracks is located in Arlinton.
One concern over the proposal has to do with Rivers Casino. Rivers Casino currently pays the state and host city Des Plains nearly $10 million yearly from tax revenue. Provisions are being requested that would help protect the yearly tax amount that Des Plains receives. The money paid to the casino host city goes towards infrastructure, road maintance, and sidewalk repair.
In 2011 Rivers Casino opened. In order to receive the gaming license for the casino, there was an agreement made that for the next 30 years a payment of $10 million would be made to the state. Of the remaining revenue, 40% would be paid to the 10 nearby communities. However, if there are more casinos added to the state the chance of revenue earned at Rivers Casino will most likely go down.
Locations for the other casinos has not been decided. Proposals have been made for Danville, Carbondale, Chicago, Rockford, and Waukegan. The Chicago location would be located in a section of the O'Hare Airport and a separate standalone location. 4,000 slot machines would be in operation in Chicago.
For many years owners and advocates for horse track racing venues have sought the addition of electronic gaming machines. If the proposed measure is approved, the race tracks would be allowed to offer these types of games.
Back Full Page > Illinois Casinos | Updates 2022
Chicago casino proposals are cut to three finalists
March 30, 2022 -
Last week Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the city has postponed its final selection for a Chicago casino until early summer, and instead has selected three applicants as finalists for further consideration
... Read more
Rockford Casino Status Report - March 2022
March 24, 2022 -
Although the temporary Rockford Casino has been operating since November, construction of the permanent Hard Rock Casino in Rockford has not started and a groundbreaking date has not been
... Read more
Golden Nugget Danville gets green light from Illinois Gaming Board
March 18, 2022 -
Last week the Golden Nugget Danville took a major step forward when the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB)issued a "preliminary finding of suitability". The is prerequisite action
... Read more
Rockford Casino adds Sunday Jazz Brunch, WINESdays in March
March 4, 2022 -
Rock Hard's temporary casino ion Rockford, A Hard Rock Opening Act, has added two weekly events for March. The first is "Sunday Jazz Brunch" at the Rock River Bar & Grill every Sunday
... Read more
Hard Rock Casino Rockford partners with IceHogs
February 11, 2022 -
This week Hard Rock Casino Rockford announced a five-year sponsorship deal with the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. The deal includes a Hard Rock VIP suite inside.
... Read more
Hard Rock Rockford is granted final license for construction
January 29, 2022 -
This week the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) voted 4 to 1 to license the Hard Rock Casino Rockford to build a $310 million casino on the site of the former Clock Tower Resort at
... Read more
Chicago casino proposals presented at public meeting
December 20, 2021 -
Five casino proposals for Chicago were presented Thursday at a public meeting with Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Bally's presented two proposals, Rush Street presented two, and Hard Rock pre
... Read more
Illinois Gaming Board selects American Place for Waukegan casino
December 14, 2021 -
The Illinois Gaming Board on Wednesday approved a casino for Waukegan. The board selected and approved the American Place casino project proposed by Full House Resorts
... Read more
Wind Creek Chicago Southland approved by Illinois Gaming Board
December 12, 2021 -
A new casino is coming to the south suburbs of Chicago. This week the Illinois Gaming Board selected Wind Creek Chicago Southland to build a casino resort in the East Hazel
... Read more
Walkers Bluff breaks ground on $180M casino
December 11, 2021 -
Gov. J.B. Pritzker was in Carterville this week to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Walker's Bluff Casino Resort. The casino will feature 650 slots
... Read more
Rockford Casino earns $8.4M in first two months
January 13, 2022 -
Since opening Nov. 10, Rockford's Hard Rock casino has generated $8.4 million in revenues. Of that amount the casino will pay 511,000 to state taxes and $255,400 to local taxes. According to the
... Read more
Hard Rock's Rockford Casino brings $4.1M in first month
December 9, 2021 -
Hard Rock's temporary casino in Rockford, Illinois pulled $4.1 million in revenue in November. The number of casino visitors was 41,637. The Rockford casino opened November 10, 2021 and
... Read more
Potawatomi Tribe claims Waukegan casino license is a 'rigged process'
November 24, 2021 -
The long, long process to select a applicant for the Waukegan casino license has become longer. The Illinois Gaming Board delayed the selection process Thursday
... Read more
New details on 5 Chicago casino proposals
November 22, 2021 -
The office of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot release additioinal details about the five Chicago casino proposals on Friday. Each proposal will be reviewed by a committee of city department leaders who will select one to
... Read more
Hard Rock opens temporary casino in Rockford, IL
November 11, 2021 -
Yesterday Hard Rock International opened a temporary casino named Rockford Casino to operate during the construction phase of the $310 million Hard Rock Casino in Rockford, IL.
... Read more
5 proposals submitted for Chicago casino-resort
November 2, 2021 -
Four applicants for the sole Chicago casino license have proposed five different locations to the Illinois Gaming Board. All applications were received by the board prior to the Oct. 29 deadline.
... Read more
Which tribe will build Chicagoland's south suburban casino?
November 1, 2021 -
The Illinois Gaming Board has selected two applicants as finalists for Cook County's south suburban casino license. The finalists are the Choctaw Nation (OK) and the Poarch Indians (AL)
... Read more
Video Tour of Hard Rock's Rockford Casino
October 18, 2021 -
Take a preview walk through Rockford's temporary Hard Rock Casino, which opens in a few weeks. The 21,000 square foot facility is ready to open with over 700 slot machines, a bar and grill and a casino bar.
... Read more
Rockford's Hard Rock Casino Delays Opening Date
October 14, 2021 -
The opening of the temporary Rockford Casino will now likely be in November. An exact date has not been announced. This is a slight delay from the late October date expected after completing the
... Read more
Hard Rock Casino Rockford prepares to open temporary casino
September 20, 2021 -
Hard Rock Casino in Rockford, IL is preparing to open a temporary slots casino within the next few weeks. During the past two months Hard Rock has hired hundreds of new employees
... Read more
Rockford's Hard Rock Casino will open temporary casino in October
July 30, 2021 -
The Hard Rock casino project in Rockford, Illinois will open a temporary slots casino in October 2021 to operate during the construction a permanent facility. The date was
... Read more
Hard Rock Casino Rockford advances with key IGB approvals
July 18, 2021 -
Hard Rock Casino Rockford made a major advance this week in its long approval process with the Illinois Gaming Board. The board approved the list of owners, executives, managers and assoc
... Read more
Hard Rock Casino Rockford gets OK for temp casino
June 28, 2021 -
The Illinois Gaming Board has approved construction of a temporary Hard Rock Casino in Rockford inside the former Giovanni's Restaurant and Convention Center. The temporary casino
... Read more
Hard Rock Casino Rockford takes major steps forward
June 14, 2021 -
The Hard Rock Casino Rockford project took several major steps forward in last week's Illinois Gaming Board meeting. The Board approved a list of casino executives and investors and issued a
... Read more
Walker's Bluff Casino Resort granted 'preliminary license'
June 13, 2021 -
Walker's Bluff owner Cynde Bunch announced this week, "We were granted a 'preliminary license to proceed'! Today we celebrate. Tomorrow at daylight we ride through a new set"
... Read more
Tribes are devastated after one year of COVID-19
March 18, 2021 -
As the Covid-19 pandemic began spreading across our nation last year, its impact became the most deadly in our tribal communities. Tribal economies also collapsed as casinos were shut down
... Read more
Hard Rock Rockford clears casino site
March 15, 2021 -
Construction crews are clearing the site for the Hard Rock Casino planned for Rockford, IL following preliminary approval from the Illinois Gaming Board to begin construction. Crews are removing the
... Read more
Hard Rock Casino Rockford gets green light for construction
February 11, 2021 -
The Illinois Gaming Board voted unanimously last week to allow construction of the Hard Rock Casino Rockford to move forward. The board found "preliminary suitability" for the
... Read more
Choctaw casino plan for suburban Chicago receives unanimous local approval
October 26, 2019 -
The Matteson Village Board of Trustees voted 6-0 to approve the Choctaw casino proposal to build a $300 million casino hotel in suburban Chicago.
... Read more
Five tribes propose building commercial casinos in Illinois
October 25, 2019 -
Five tribes have proposed building new casinos in Illinois under the Rebuild Illinois Act including the Choctaw Nation (OK), Potawatomi (WI), Poarch Creek (AL), Ho-Chunk Nation (WI), and
... Read more
Choctaw Nation proposes suburban Chicago casino
October 24, 2019 -
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has proposed a $300M casino, hotel and conference center to the Matteson Village Board near Chicago, Illinois. The 123,000-sq-ft casino would feature
... Read more
Wisconsin Tribe Proposes Suburban Chicago Casino
October 17, 2019 -
The Wisconsin Ho-Chunk Nation proposes a $300M casino and hotel in south suburban Lynwood. The proposed location is 120 acres owned by the tribe and located east of Illinois 394
... Read more
Hard Rock Casino is approved by Rockford City Council
October 12, 2019 -
Rockford City Council selected Hard Rock International over two other proposals as Rockford's single applicant for state licensing. Hard Rock will build a $310M casino with 65,000-sq-ft
... Read more
Alabama Tribe Proposes Casino in South Suburbs of Chicago
October 8, 2019 -
Wind Creek Hospitality, the gaming and hospitality company of Alabama's Poarch Creek Indians, has proposed a $275M casino in the suburbs of East Hazel Crest and Homewood
... Read more
Forest City Casino Proposal
September 23, 2019 -
The third applicant for a Rockford casino license proposes a $500M casino, hotel and entertainment complex in Forest City. It would include a golf entertainment center, waterpark and family fun center.
... Read more
Potawatomi Apply for Waukegan Casino License
August 6, 2019 -
Potawatomi Hotel and Casino filed an application yesterday with the City of Waukegan, Illinois to build a commercial casino and entertainment venue under the Rebuild Illinois Law enacted last June.
... Read more
Second Proposal for Rockford Casino
July 29, 2019 -
A downtown casino and entertainment complex including an aquarium is proposed by Rock River West Casino Group, a local partnership with developer Gorman & Company,
... Read more
Hard Rock Casino Proposed for Rockford IL
July 17, 2019 -
Hard Rock International is the first to announce their plan to build a casino in Rockford, IL. It includes a casino, an entertainment and music venue, restaurants, retail stores and a hotel.
... Read more
Ho-Chunk Nation's casino plan for Beloit gets challenge from Rockford IL
July 5, 2019 -
As the Beloit tribal casino awaits a federal go-ahead decision, Illinois has enacted a massive gambling expansion bill that will bring a casino to Rockford, IL.
... Read more
Illinois Authorizes Sports Betting & Six New Casinos
June 29, 2019 -
Illinois Gov. Pritzker has signed into law a $45B infrastructure bill that includes a massive gambling across the state. The new law legalizes sports betting, authorizes six new casinos, adds
... Read more
Illinois lawmakers consider adding 6 new casinos
May 28, 2018 -
Illinois lawmakers are discussing a proposed measure to allow six new casinos in the state.
... Read more
06.07.2016 
Walker's Bluff Casino to Challenge Other Nearby Casinos
01.11.2016 Flooding Affects Argosy Casino Alton Revenue
01.05.2016 Proposed Decatur Casino to go Before City Council
05.05.2015 Less than 30 Days Left for Rockford Casino Decision
05.04.2015 Rauner Pushes for More Casinos
12.29.2014 Possible Illinois Casino Expansion
07.25.2014 Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago Opens New Poker Room
07.17.2014 Illinois Wins Revenue From Iowa Casinos
Davenport Casino Opposed by CityIndiana Casinos may forecast Illinois Casino futureBill Approved for 5 New Illinois Casinos Gaming Bill Could Pass House for Rockford Casino Rockford Casino Bill Still PossibleHorse Racing May be Helped by CasinosDes Plaines New Casino, River Casino, officially OpensRivers Casino Now OpenRivers Casino holds job fair12.31.2010 Proposed state law to allow casino smoking
12.03.2010 Empress reopens as Hollywood Casino Joliet
09.20.2010 Empress Casino will be Hollywood Casino on Dec. 29th
06.02.2010 Ameristar hotel to get $4.2 million facelift
04.18.2010 Des Plaines casino holds ground breaking
04.06.2010 Des Plaines casino names pour in
01.28.2010 Des Plaines $1B casino site approved by commission
08.31.2009 New Illinois law allows mini casinos at truck stops
12.23.2008 Des Plaines wins 10th gaming license
12.13.2008 Des Plaines, Rosemont, Waukegan finalists for last casino license
12.01.2008 New Jumer's Casino & Hotel opens in rock Island
11.14.2008 Rosemont tops bidding for 10th casino
09.29.2008 Visit Blue Chip, Majestic Star, Four Winds and Potawatomi
09.12.2008 Promotions at Blue Chip, Four Winds, Harrah's and Majestic Star
09.11.2008 Horseshoe Casino Announces Gaming Table Odds and Limits
09.02.2008 Casino Queen renovations
08.14.2008 Horseshoe Casino Grand Opening
08.13.2008 
New Horseshoe Casino grand Opening includes celebrities
07.31.2008 Governor drops gambling expansion
07.10.2008 House defeats gambling expansion plan
06.30.2008 Resorts East Chicago is rebranded as Ameristar Casino Hotel
06.15.2008 Jumer's Casino and Hotel opening in December
05.31.2008 Illinois Senate approves major gambling bill
05.30.2008 Chicago Casino?
04.24.2008 Illinois Gaming Board Blocks All-Night Casinos
04.01.2008 Country Club Hills Mayor Wants Casino
03.27.2008 New Horseshoe Casino Hammond Will Open in August
01.23.2008 Jumers Hotel and Casino Construction is on Schedule
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