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Seven Different Sportsbooks
Variety of Bonuses & Promotions
Legal Since 2021
Secured & Trusted
Fast Withdrawals
Illinois is home to some of the most legendary and recognizable professional sports franchises and features a limited but competitive, successful, and growing legalized sports betting market. Illinois legalized sports gambling in 2019 but required in-person registration until late 2021.
To participate in Illinois sports betting, users must be 21 years old and able to be geolocated in Illinois. There are currently seven legal sports books on the Illinois sports betting landscape, with more sportsbooks planning to debut in the state on the horizon.
We’ve reviewed the available Illinois sportsbooks and ranked the top six options for players in a competitive and growing sports betting landscape.
There are seven active legal sportsbooks in Illinois: Only six have made it to our ranking of top Illinois sportsbooks. Here are our rankings and sportsbook recommendations for Illinois sports betting players:
| Sportsbook | Bonus | Promo Offer | Sidelines Sportsbook Review Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM | Risk-Free Bet | Up to a $1000 credit if your first bet loses. | 4.75/5 |
| FanDuel Sportsbook | Risk-Free Bet | Up to $1000 bonus bet if your first bet loses | 4.75/5 |
| Caesars Sportsbook | Risk-Free Bet + Rewards Points | Up to a $1250 credit if your first bet loses, plus 1,000 Caesars rewards and Tier Credits (2000 total bonus credits) | 4.5/5 |
| DraftKings Sportsbook | Bonus bet and deposit matching, first bet win bonus. | Bet at least $5 on any pregame moneyline and win $150 in bonus bets if the team wins. Receive a $50 bonus bet and a 20% deposit matching bonus up to $1000 on your first deposit. | 4.25/5 |
| PointsBet Sportsbook | Risk-Free Bet | Up to $1000 risk-free (no sweat) bet on your first wager. | 4.25/5 |
| BetRivers | Risk-Free (Second Chance) Bet | Up to $500 in bet credits if your first bet loses. | 4.75 |
If there was one sportsbook out to rule them all, it’s BetMGM, and it’s doing a very good job at pursuing that aim. BetMGM is a premier online sportsbook with almost everything an Illinois sports betting player could want in a sportsbook.
Headquarters on North Michigan Avenue, BetRivers has a rewards program, promotions, enough variety, and a very functional and easy-to-use but uninspired app. Despite being our lowest-ranked Illinois sportsbook, it’s still an excellent option to have as an additional option if you want to do odds shopping on a game or event and have a local flavor.
Caesars Sportsbook is one of the best online sportsbooks having an excellent overall user experience, bonuses and promos, 24/7 customer service, a rewards program, and live NFL streaming.
DraftKings has a wide variety of odds, promotions, and functions and the best welcome bonus in Illinois sports betting.
FanDuel has an excellent user experience, customer service, banking options, live streaming, and betting types. FanDuel is one of the premier Illinois sportsbooks and ranks highly in our ratings.
PointsBet has the best promos, a wide variety of betting lines with favorable lines, live streaming, and unique betting options for Illinois sports betting players.
The PointsBet app needs improved navigability, and the sportsbook could have more banking options, among a few other ways it can improve and continue to be competitive in the Illinois sports betting landscape. PointsBet is still an excellent sportsbook as a secondary option.
FanDuel ranks highly in every criterion we review and ranks equally as the best Illinois sports betting options. The FanDuel Sportsbook is excellent in almost every and provides users of all experience levels with an easy-to-use, fun, and excellent app.
We’ve ranked BetMGM equal with FanDuel as the best Illinois sportsbook. BetMGM aims to be the best sportsbook on the market by having everything a bettor could want or need to be an informed, responsible, and successful sports bettor.
Caesars Sportsbook narrowly edged out PointsBet and DraftKings by having better customer service, banking options, specifically NFL streaming, and a smoother, easier-to-navigate app.
PointsBet sportsbook has a competitive and unique welcome bonus. Yet, it is promotions, and special bonus offers for existing users where PointsBet shines, providing users with excellent opportunities and continued value with an ever-changing stream of opportunities.
DraftKings has the best welcome promo package, excellent promotions, and special events for users. Some Illinois sports betting players will prefer the DraftKings sportsbook because of the promotions and options, which overcome some of the site’s limitations.
Caesars Sportsbook has an excellent welcome package, two rewards programs, and a variety of different promotions for users to take advantage of in the app.
BetMGM’s app runs smoothly, is easy to navigate, is aesthetically well-appointed, and has everything at the player’s fingertips in an overall excellent user experience. BetMGM’s functions and functionality are second to none, making the BetMGM app among the best in the Illinois sports betting landscape.
The FanDuel app is an excellent option, with a different aesthetic than BetMGM, but it shares many of the same features that make BetMGM a premier sports betting app. However, there is a small gap in functionality, which ranks the FanDuel Sportsbook app just under BetMGM.
The Caesars Sportsbook is designed by William Hill and might be the smoothest and simplest user experience of all the legal Illinois sportsbooks. Caesars sportsbook app is excellent for users of any experience level and is highly recommended for people who will be betting on the NFL.
When we research and review Illinois sportsbooks, we apply the same criteria to each sportsbook in an effort to get the best data for evaluation. Our criteria explore every aspect of the website focusing on value for the user. We use the same criteria and ask the same question of each sportsbook to fairly review each legal Illinois sports betting option.
To rank highly, an Illinois sportsbook must be fun, easy to navigate and have various options appealing to the widest range of sports betting user experience levels possible.
Here are the categories and areas we explore when ranking Illinois sports betting sites:
For a sportsbook to rank highly in our rankings, the registration process needs to be smooth and easy, with a robust and efficient identity verification process. We want the experience to be smooth, clear, and efficient, enabling Illinois players to quickly and easily create an account, download the geolocation app, and the sportsbooks identify verification process confirming your information is efficient and quick.
Best in the state: each legal Illinois sportsbook is very comparable and has an easy registration process.
The first sign of a secure sportsbook is a robust identification process. You are providing personal and financial information to a sportsbook, so security is paramount. We check each sportsbook’s license and security practices before recommending the sportsbook.
If the sportsbook is not secure, we will not recommend it.
Best in the state: fortunately for Illinois sports betting players, all seven legal sportsbooks are very secure: each sportsbook is licensed by the Illinois Gaming Commission and connected to a brick-and-mortar casino in the state.
User experience is something we evaluate throughout the extent of a research trip to the Illinois sportsbook. We explore the fullest extent of each sportsbook, searching for options, functions, functionality, and ease of use. We’re also evaluating aesthetics like color, layouts, icons, and spacing.
We want the user experience to be smooth, efficient, and fun to give Illinois betting sites a high ranking.
Best in the site: BetMGM, FanDuel, Caesars Sportsbook
For a sportsbook to rank highly in our rankings, we want to see excellent welcome bonuses, regularly changing promotions and seasonal and special event promotions for events like the Olympics or March Madness. The more variety in promotions and offers the sportsbook offers, the higher we rank the sportsbook.
We place a higher value on risk-free bets, deposit-matching bets, and combination bonus offers that help players build their bankrolls.
Best in the state: PointsBet
We highly value variety and options for Illinois sports betting players when evaluating a sportsbook. We want players to be able to bet on the sports they know the best, giving them the best chance to be successful in sports betting immediately.
Illinois sports betting sites need to have a wide variety of betting lines from as many top-tier, major professional sports, combat sports, and racing categories from across the planet on a sportsbook. If you are a huge IPL Cricket or a Formula 1 fan wanting to bet on Japanese Grand Prix prop bets, we want to see these betting options available for betters.
We want to see more than single-game betting. On top of single-game betting, we want to see live betting, props, futures lines, unique to the sportsbook odds, and special sporting event odds to give a sportsbook a high ranking. The more variety and options, the higher we rank we give the Illinois sportsbook.
Best in the state: DraftKings, BetMGM, PointsBet
Offering an array of features is an important aspect of our rankings of Illinois sports betting options. Again, options and variety earn a high ranking in our evaluation.
We want to find functions like a parlay calculator, rewards programs, a bet builder, live streaming, early cash-out, edit my bet, special odds, and odds boosts. We highly value a betting education section and responsible betting measures and rank Illinois betting sites highly that have informative and easy-to-access material to help betters bet intelligently and responsibly.
Best in State: FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook
We highly value options and variety when ranking Illinois sportsbooks, and banking options is no exception. For a sportsbook to rank highly, we want to see a wide variety of deposit and withdrawal options, including PayPal, Skrill, PayNearMe, eCheck, debit and credit cards, cryptocurrencies, and ACH, among others.
Players should have a wide variety of banking options to choose from, picking the option they are most comfortable with.
We also check the timing and any minimums on deposits and withdrawals, factoring these into our Illinois sports betting rankings.
Best in State: FanDuel, BetMGM
While we highly value a smooth, issue-free user experience, we also acknowledge that issues and problems can and will potentially happen. Considering the time-sensitive nature of sports betting and your personal information, addressing the issue as soon as possible is paramount.
For a sports book to get a high ranking, we want some form of 24/7 support to address any issues quickly and get you back in the game as soon as possible.
Best in the state: BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, FanDuel.
Caesars Sportsbook has a sports betting partnership with the Chicago White Sox in May 2022.
FanDuel is an official sports betting partner of the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls. FanDuel announced plans for a FanDuel Sportsbook Lounge at the United Center, home of the Blackhawks and Bulls.
BetRivers and River Casino entered into an exclusive partnership with the Chicago Bears in 2022.
DraftKings is the official sports betting partner of the Chicago Cubs.
Illinois lawmakers acted on the Supreme Court’s likely repeal of the Professional, and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), introducing five bills attempting to legalize sports betting in 2018.
Bill SB 690 was signed and passed by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2019, which legalized Illinois sports betting, but with the caveat that out-of-state sportsbooks could not launch in the state for 18 months and require in-person registration. While a temporary ordinance lifted the in-person registration requirement in 2020, the in-person requirement was removed, and remote registration was reinstated in 2021.
Legislation was enacted in 2021 permitting collegiate sports gambling at Illinois sportsbooks. However, bets on Illinois-based collegiate teams are only permitted in person at brick-and-mortar retail locations.
Illinois is considering an amendment to Illinois’ Sports Wagering Act that would permit sports betting exchanges in the state.
The Illinois Gaming Commission oversees all Illinois sports betting and gaming activity.
Yes, online sports betting is legal in Illinois. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Bill SB-69, legalizing sports betting in June 2019.
Yes, you can bet on FanDuel in Illinois. In fact, FanDuel is one of the top-ranked Illinois betting sites and an official betting partner of the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls.
Yes, online horse betting is legal in Illinois. Illinois sports betting players wanting to bet on horse racing will have to register for a horse betting account with a legal online racebook.
Yes, but only in person. Illinois sports betting permits collegiate sports betting, but any bets on Illinois-based collegiate teams must be placed in person at brick-and-mortar retail establishments.
