ILLINOIS · STATEWIDE COMMERCIAL CASINO GUIDE
From the Chicago Loop to the Ohio River — every licensed casino in Illinois
Illinois runs the most active commercial casino market in the Midwest, and it has been rebuilding itself for three straight years. Walker's Bluff opened in Southern Illinois in 2023. Hard Rock opened in Rockford and Wind Creek opened in the south suburbs in 2024. Hollywood replaced two aging riverboats with new land-based resorts in Joliet and Aurora. Bally's is finishing a $1.7 billion casino in downtown Chicago. Seventeen licensed casinos now operate across five distinct regions — plus roughly 49,000 video gaming terminals in bars and truck stops, the largest network of its kind anywhere in the world.
Part of the Vantage Corridor Casino Network
Every Illinois casino is a commercial license regulated by the Illinois Gaming Board. There is no tribal gaming in Illinois.
Chicago is four hundred miles from the state's southern tip
8 casinos
Bally's Chicago, Rivers Des Plaines, Grand Victoria Elgin, Hollywood Aurora, Hollywood Joliet, Harrah's Joliet, Wind Creek Southland, American Place Waukegan. The densest casino market between the coasts.
2 casinos
Hard Rock Rockford and Bally's Quad Cities. Rockford serves the Wisconsin border; Rock Island anchors the Iowa line on the Mississippi.
2 casinos
Par-A-Dice in East Peoria on the Illinois River, and Golden Nugget Danville out on the Indiana border.
3 casinos
Argosy Alton, DraftKings at Casino Queen, and FanDuel in Collinsville. These serve St. Louis, not Chicago — downtown St. Louis is minutes away across the Mississippi.
2 casinos
Walker's Bluff at Carterville and Harrah's Metropolis on the Ohio River. Closer to Nashville, Memphis, and Paducah than to Chicago.
Metro East and Southern Illinois are not Chicago day trips. Carterville is about 320 miles south of the Loop — roughly the distance from Chicago to Cleveland. Metropolis is farther south than Richmond, Virginia. If you are planning a trip, start with the region, not the state.
Three Caesars properties hold Illinois licenses, spread across three regions.
Elgin · Chicago metro · Fox River, hotel on property
Joliet · Chicago metro · full-service casino hotel on the I-80 corridor
Metropolis · far southern Illinois on the Ohio River
Tier credits earned at any Illinois Caesars property carry across the whole network — Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New Orleans, Biloxi and the rest. Two of the three have current room offers.
BestInIllinois.Casino earns a commission if you book through these links, at no additional cost to you. We are not affiliated with Caesars Entertainment.
Complete Illinois Gaming Board Directory
Chicago · Bally's Corporation
The only casino inside Chicago city limits. Temporary facility at Medinah Temple in River North since September 2023. The $1.7B permanent resort at 560 W. Grand Ave, on the former Chicago Tribune Freedom Center site, topped off in May 2026 and targets spring 2027 — 3,400 slots, 173 tables, a 500-room hotel.
Des Plaines · Rush Street Gaming
Illinois' highest-grossing casino. Roughly 1,100 slots and 50+ table games, hotel, multiple restaurants, sportsbook, Rush Rewards. Five minutes from O'Hare, twenty from downtown. 2200 Onyx Dr.
Elgin · Caesars Entertainment
On the Fox River in downtown Elgin, about 40 miles west of Chicago. One of the longest-established floors in the metro, with a hotel on property and Caesars Rewards. Eldorado bought it from MGM and Hyatt in 2018; it came to Caesars in the merger.
Aurora · Penn Entertainment
Opened June 24, 2026
An all-new $360M land-based resort off I-88 across from Chicago Premium Outlets — 1,200+ gaming positions, hotel, full-service spa, retail sportsbook, outdoor entertainment area, 12,000 sq ft event center.
Joliet · Penn Entertainment
Opened August 11, 2025
An all-new $185M land-based property replacing the riverboat that ran since 1992. Roughly 1,000 slots and 43 live table games.
Joliet · Caesars Entertainment
Full-service casino hotel on the Des Plaines River in the I-80 and Route 66 corridor, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago. Caesars Rewards. 151 N Joliet St.
East Hazel Crest · Wind Creek Hospitality
Opened November 11, 2024
A $529M property at I-80 and Halsted with roughly 1,400 slots, 56 table games and three restaurants, with parking structures extending into neighboring Homewood. The first casino built to serve Chicago's south suburbs.
Waukegan · Full House Resorts
Operating as The Temporary by American Place since February 2023, near the North Shore about thirty minutes north of O'Hare. Full House broke ground on the permanent casino at 4011 Fountain Square Place on June 3, 2026 — roughly twice the size, targeting 2027. The temporary floor stays open during construction.
Rockford · Hard Rock International
Opened August 29, 2024
A 65,000 sq ft gaming floor with about 1,300 slots and 50 table games, plus a Hard Rock Cafe, a Hard Rock Live concert venue, and a Rock Shop. Ninety minutes northwest of Chicago and the closest Illinois casino to the Wisconsin line.
Rock Island · Bally's Corporation
On the Mississippi in Rock Island, opposite Davenport, Iowa. Opened as Jumer's in December 2008 and rebranded under Bally's. Casino, hotel, and banquet center. 777 Bally Blvd.
East Peoria · Boyd Gaming
On the Illinois River across from Peoria. Full gaming floor, hotel, and dining. Boyd's B Connected rewards. About two and a half hours southwest of Chicago on I-74.
Danville · Golden Nugget
Opened May 2023
Opened as a temporary casino on the Indiana border, with a 41,500 sq ft floor carrying 500+ slots, 14 table games, a sportsbook, and a Saltgrass Steak House. A permanent facility has been in development — verify which building is operating before you drive.
East St. Louis · Operated by Bally's Corporation
Riverfront property directly opposite downtown St. Louis, roughly 38,000 sq ft of gaming with a hotel and RV park. Five minutes over the Poplar Street Bridge — closer to a downtown St. Louis hotel than most Missouri casinos. Rebranded from Casino Queen under a DraftKings partnership.
Alton · Penn Entertainment
A genuine riverboat on the Mississippi in Alton, about 35 minutes north of St. Louis. No hotel on site. The Great River Road runs north from here through the bluffs. 1 Piasa St.
Collinsville · Accel Entertainment
The 95-year-old thoroughbred track long known as Fairmount Park, rebranded under a FanDuel partnership and acquired by Accel Entertainment, which holds an Illinois Organization Gaming License permitting casino gaming at the site. Live racing plus a full sportsbook, twenty minutes east of downtown St. Louis. Casino gaming has been phased in — confirm the current floor before you go.
Carterville · Elite Casino Resorts
Opened August 25, 2023
A $147M, 190,000 sq ft resort with roughly 650 slots and table games, a 116-room hotel, restaurants, a full-service spa, and a 1,200-seat event center. Minutes from Carbondale, Southern Illinois University, Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and the Shawnee National Forest. 777 Walkers Bluff Way.
Metropolis · Caesars Entertainment
On the Ohio River in far southern Illinois, ten miles from Paducah, Kentucky and about six hours from Chicago. Metropolis calls itself Superman's hometown and has the statue on the courthouse square to prove it. Caesars Rewards.
Illinois casinos are licensed and regulated by the Illinois Gaming Board. All seventeen are commercial licenses — Illinois has no tribal gaming. Ownership, branding and opening status change; verify at igb.illinois.gov or with the property directly.
Illinois Runs the Largest Video Gaming Terminal Network in the World
Illinois legalized video gaming terminals under the Video Gaming Act, and the result is unlike anything else in American gambling. Roughly 49,000 slot-style terminals now operate at about 9,000 licensed bars, restaurants, gaming cafes, truck stops and fraternal organizations across the state — the largest regulated network of its kind anywhere in the world. In most of Illinois you are closer to a legal gaming machine than to a grocery store.
Regulated gaming terminals at licensed retail establishments, overseen by the Illinois Gaming Board under the Video Gaming Act. Adults 21 and over. Terminals are capped per location, and payouts and regulation are separate from casino floor gaming.
They are not a casino. There are no table games, no poker rooms, no hotel packages, no comps, no loyalty tier. If you want a floor, a room and a card, you want one of the seventeen licensed casinos above. If you want to play a machine while you eat, that is what VGTs are for.
The VGT network is the reason Illinois feels saturated with gambling while its casinos remain concentrated in a handful of markets. Do not mistake a gaming cafe for a casino — and do not assume a small Illinois town has a casino because it has machines.
Legal Since 2019 · Full Statewide Mobile Since 2022
✅ FULLY LEGAL — MOBILE AND RETAIL
Illinois legalized sports betting in 2019 and launched in 2020. The in-person registration requirement was removed in June 2022, so you can now sign up and bet from a phone anywhere inside state lines. Retail sportsbooks operate at the major casino properties.
⚠️ ONLINE CASINO IS NOT LEGAL IN ILLINOIS
Sports betting is the limit of Illinois' online gaming authorization. You cannot legally play online slots, online blackjack, roulette or live-dealer games through any Illinois-licensed operator. Slots and table games require a licensed casino or a VGT location.
Live
Live
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Live · Caesars Rewards credit on bets
Live · Rush Street's book, tied to Rivers Des Plaines
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bet365, theScore Bet and additional operators are also licensed in Illinois. You must be 21 or older and physically inside Illinois to place a legal mobile bet.
O'Hare (ORD) is five minutes from Rivers Des Plaines — the closest airport-to-casino relationship in the Midwest. Midway (MDW) serves the southwest side and the Joliet corridor. For Metro East, St. Louis Lambert (STL) and MidAmerica (BLV) are closest. For Southern Illinois, Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois (MWA) at Marion is minutes from Walker's Bluff; Nashville (BNA) is about three hours from Carbondale.
Illinois casino geography follows the interstates. I-90 and I-294 to Des Plaines and Elgin. I-88 west to Aurora. I-80 and I-55 southwest to Joliet. I-57 or I-94 south to Wind Creek. I-90 northwest to Rockford, about 90 minutes. I-74 to East Peoria and on to the Quad Cities. I-55 south to the Metro East. I-57 south to Carterville, roughly five and a half hours from Chicago. I-24 to Metropolis.
Illinois borders Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky and Indiana, and its casinos serve all of them. Rockford draws from southern Wisconsin. Bally's Quad Cities draws from Iowa. The Metro East three are St. Louis casinos in everything but license. Metropolis draws from Paducah and western Kentucky. Danville draws from Indiana.
The eleven Chicagoland casinos in depth, including the Indiana border three
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Seven casinos across two states in the St. Louis metro, including the Metro East Illinois floors
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Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska and Indiana in one corridor guide
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Indiana's commercial casino belt across the eastern border
→ bestinindiana.casino
All 23 Iowa casinos across the Mississippi
→ bestiniowa.casino
The national casino directory
→ bestinusa.casino
Gaming should be entertainment, not a financial strategy. Free, confidential help is available around the clock for anyone in Illinois with a gambling concern, and statewide voluntary self-exclusion applies to every licensed casino and every VGT location.
Illinois Gambling Helpline
1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537)
Or text ILGAMB to 833234
24 hours a day, 7 days a week — free and confidential
areyoureallywinning.comYou must be 21 or older for all casino gaming, video gaming and sports betting in Illinois. BestInIllinois.Casino is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the Illinois Gaming Board or any casino operator. Information is provided for general reference and is subject to change — verify at igb.illinois.gov or with the property.