State-regulated sports betting in Illinois is something residents have been waiting for for years. This state is home to the third-largest city in America and several championship-winning sports teams. Fans of the Bears, the Bulls, and the Cubs would love them some legal betting in Illinois. Only a year after the federal government repealed a ban on sports betting, lawmakers took matters into their own hands. They passed legislation that would shape Illinois sports betting sites tailored to the landscape of the state.
However, legal Illinois sportsbooks have been around for a while now. That’s thanks to many a US sportsbook. For over two decades, legal Illinois sports betting sites have been available as internationally-regulated sportsbooks for US players. There have been many misunderstandings about these sports betting sites. That’s why we’ll inform you how you can legally bet at a sportsbook in United States. Here Illinois bettors will find everything about their state’s sports gambling laws. We also present a list of Illinois-friendly sportsbooks for your online betting USA legal needs.
They have launched sports betting in Illinois. They have finally completed the process for legal betting in Illinois. Following the application process in December 2019, Illinois launched sports betting on March 9, 2020. It became the 15th state to accept a legal sports bet and the first in the 2020 calendar year. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic followed almost immediately after. As we know, that put a damper on many major sports leagues. This will surely and negatively impact the amount of revenue legal Illinois sports betting sites could have raised.
Laws for Illinois sports betting sites used to be stricter than in other US states. At the same time, they remained vague and confusing. The 2019 legislative session clarified some of these misunderstandings. They passed bill IL SB 690 on the last day of the legislative session.
Established the Sports Wagering Act in the state. They passed the Act and signed and wrote it into law. As of March 9, 2020, sports betting is operational in the state, and there are state-sanctioned legal Illinois sportsbooks.
We should also note that none of the state’s laws ever prohibited residents from sports betting in Illinois. A perusing of Illinois sports betting laws reveals the state does not have a law stopping residents from joining offshore sportsbooks. Maybe there was no legal betting in Illinois. But it was only in the sense that unauthorized operators were not allowed to run bookie businesses.
The state has no law specifically criminalizing bettors for placing bets at Illinois sports betting sites. There are no laws targeting bettors in Illinois. Therefore, the state has yet to arrest or penalize anybody for using legal Illinois sportsbooks. Illinois state law has nothing prohibiting residents from betting online at legal Illinois sports betting sites.
As long as Illinoisans stick to the online bookies we list on this page, they’re okay with the law. These online sportsbooks have licenses and follow regulations in offshore jurisdictions. Since they operate from these countries, they are outside of Illinois’ betting laws. And since those laws do not target users who bet USA, it is legal for Illinois residents to do so. Now that the state has launched sportsbooks, bettors can use those as well.
State-regulated sportsbooks are up and running. They took the first bet in the state at noon on March 9th, 2020. Gamblers can also access online sportsbooks. It is hard for Illinois gamblers to know the best in the industry. Therefore, we have done the research and identified the best brands in the business. Illinoisans can safely and legally bet at any of these online sportsbooks.
This state was one of the few passing legislation touching on the use of the Internet to gamble. Chapter 720 Title III of the Illinois Compiled Statutes expressly prohibits to enable gambling through the use of the Internet. As a state law, this was applicable to local and domestic sportsbooks. To prevent them from taking wagers from people online. They have overturned PASPA. And Illinois passed IL SB 690 legalizing and regulating sports betting within its borders. Sports bettors have nothing to be afraid of. Riverboat Casinos and sports stadiums will act as sportsbooks. Online operators will be able to operate in the state independently. Although they will have to wait 18 months first.