If you’re looking for the best online casino in Illinois, you’ll struggle as online casinos are not legal in the state. However, there are ways to play casino-style games online in the Prairie State by using sweepstakes casinos.
In this guide we’ll cover exactly what a sweepstakes casino is, how you can register and claim generous welcome bonuses, and essentially play top slots and table-style games for free with the potential to redeem real-prizes. We’ll also highlight the best alternatives to Illinois online casino sites and cover the world of online sportsbooks too.
So the only thing that you really need to understand here is that online casino gaming is completely illegal in Illinois. This means that you cannot wager real money on online casino games from anywhere within the Prairie State.
If you see any online casinos saying that they accept customers from Illinois, you will know that they are acting illegally and should be avoided at all costs.
All of this means that if you want to do anything like play slots or table games, or even just pick up an online casino bonus in Illinois, you will need to be extra careful. Thankfully, there is an alternative for anyone who wants to play at an online casino – Illinois sweepstakes casinos!
On the surface, sweepstakes casinos look and feel just like regular online casinos. This is because they will feature the same kinds of slots and table games and they can all be played from your computer or mobile device. However, sweepstakes casinos operate very differently from standard online casinos due to the following points:
Lots of newcomers to sweepstakes gaming can get confused by the virtual currencies, so here is a quick table showing you the basics of how they work:
| Virtual Currency | How to Get It | How It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Coins | Can be purchased in packages or given away for free | Used only for entertainment; cannot be redeemed for real prizes |
| Sweepstakes Coins | Can only be given away for free (not purchasable) | Can be used to redeem real prizes once playthrough requirements have been fulfilled |
You can play at literally dozens of sweepstakes casinos from anywhere in Illinois, but it’s worth noting that some are definitely better than others. While everyone will have their own opinions about which is the best social casino, the following five brands should give you an idea of the kind of thing that you should be looking for:
LoneStar Casino tops our list of sweepstakes casinos available to Illinois players, with the standout welcome bonus of 100,000 Gold Coins and 2 Sweepstakes Coins just one of the many reasons for this.
If you choose to play with SC, and you end up winning some more, if you collect at least 45 SC you could be in line for a gift card prize, and 100 SC for a cash prize. SC prize redemptions do come with a 1x playthrough requirement, which is quite standard.
Although LoneStar is a new sweeps casino, it already has over 500 top games provided by developers like Relax Gaming, so you can expect classics like 7 Gold Fruit and Mega Flip. There’s also a decent live dealer section and a few Poker variations too.
The welcome bonus isn’t the only way to get free GC and SC either. Daily login rewards (5,000 GC + 0.3 SC), tournaments and social media giveaways can keep the gameplay flowing. Lastly, the Gold Coin purchase bundle of up to 500,000 GC, 105 SC, and 1,000 VIP Points is worth considering if you plan to spend.
This is a well organized sweeps casino and will suit players looking for modern games.
If you’re looking for a legal alternative to Illinois online casinos – CrownCoins Casino is worth exploring. This sweepstakes casino has come from nowhere to become one of the most talked-about brands in the industry. Much of this is probably due to the modest, but quality collection of 500+ slots that come from trusted gaming studios such as Ruby Play and Slotmill.
Plus it has to be said that CrownCoins Casino has a nice range of promo offers. There’s a great welcome bonus of 100,000 Crown Coins and 2 Sweeps Coins that’ll ensure your social gaming starts off strong. Then there’s a boost to your first Crown Coins purchase by 200%, and you can keep on getting lots of free Sweeps Coins via other deals like daily login bonuses and social media giveaways.
One particular highlight at CrownCoins is the exclusive Royal Crowns VIP program. Not only do you get special bonuses when you unlock new tiers, but you can also work towards access to VIP only games and content, which is not something you typically see at other sweeps casinos.
When it comes to SC prize redemption, you’ll need to accumulate at least 50 Sweeps Coins, play them through 1x, and then you can redeem them for gift cards and cash prizes.
For IL players looking for thousands of games – SpinQuest has you covered. We found plenty of popular games like Wanted Dead or a Wild by Hacksaw Gaming and Gravity Blackjack by Evolution.
Like other sweeps casinos, SpinQuest uses Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, and when you join you’ll collect 100k GC and 2 SC to start your social gaming journey on the site. We recommend you start off playing with GC, and then move to SC when you are comfortable with the games. This is because you can start the SC prize redemption process for cash prizes when you have 50 eligible SC.
And if you run out of GC and SC, one area that really stands out at SpinQuest is the daily login reward. Even if you don’t plan to play, make sure you set a reminder to login and collect the 10,000 GC and 1 SC each day as this is a significant bonus.
The 200% extra GC promo is also on hand if you have the budget to spend, although this is entirely optional.
SpinQuest is a promising social casino that deliveres a mobile-friendly site and excellent bonuses for Prairie State players.
With over 2,000 casino games from top developers like Hacksaw Gaming, Stake.us should be able to give you more than enough entertainment. This is particularly true when you see that this sweepstakes casino finds room for lots of live dealer games besides its expansive range of online slots. Lastly, Stake.us offers exclusive games that you won’t find elsewhere, called Stake originals.
If you log in to Stake.us every day, your virtual balance will grow by 10K Gold Coins, 1 SC. The VIP program will also benefit active players as you can climb the ranks and get hold of special promos and exclusive perks.
You can also make use of the huge GC purchase offer of 25 SC FREE and 25K GC Sign Up Bonus + 1 SC and 10K GC For Life. From here, you can use the SC to keep on playing the games, and you can then redeem them for cash prizes or gift cards. A great example of the kind of thing that you should be looking for in a sweepstakes casino.
McLuck has been dominating the sweepstakes casino rankings since 2023, when it launched it’s collection of casino-style games. Now, it boasts 1,200+ titles ranging from slots like Money Train 3 and originals like Plinko.
Although not quite an Illinois no deposit bonus, players can currently claim a no-purchase bonus of 7,500 Gold Coin and 2.5 Sweeps Coins just for signing up and entering promo code DEADSPIN. Other bonuses like daily login rewards and referral bonuses will keep your balance afloat, and an optional first GC purchase bonus is available too.
Back to the games, and the lobby is organized clearly, with handy search bars and clean menus. Pages load quickly across desktop and mobile browsers, and both iOS and Android apps can be downloaded from the respective stores for the ultimate mobile gaming experience.
Prize redemptions are straightforward, and really low compared to other sites. You can start the process with just 10 SC for a gift card and 75 SC for a cash prize. Just make sure you follow the 1x playthrough requirements before initiating.
McLuck is an established IL sweeps site that will suit most social gamers.
Although you won’t find a traditional online casino in Illinois, you can still access hundreds of free slots at the best sweeps sites.
In fact, some IL sweepstakes casinos feature 1,000+ casino-style games and slots, covering all types from classic fruit slots to bonus-rich video slots. You’ll likely recognize a few game developers behind these titles, such as Relax Gaming, Hacksaw Gaming, Ruby Play, Slotmill, and Betsoft.
If you enjoy Megaways slots, Jackpota has a good selection of titles within its 1,500+ portfolio, so you can enjoy Sweet Rush Megaways and Book of Panda Megaways when you join.
LoneStar Casino and RealPrize both have 500-700+ slots, including classics like Starburst and Finn and the Candy Spin.
Both Stake.us and McLuck boast well over 1,200 slots, and you can expect jackpots and unique Originals to help freshen up gameplay. These sites provide some of the best free slots and make great alternatives to IL online casinos.
It’s important to note that each sweepstakes casino will have to fulfil certain requirements before they are allowed to legally operate in Illinois. So look out for the following features before you sign up to any sweeps gaming site:
From the above, you should be able to see why so many people from Illinois are rushing to sign up to sweepstakes casinos. Still let’s have a quick recap of the main pros and cons:
It’s a bit of a stretch to say that sweepstakes casinos let you play free online slots for real money as it’s a little more complicated than that. So here is a quick overview of how this process actually works:
So if you’re ready to start playing at any of our recommended sweepstakes casinos, you should keep the following things in mind:
All sweepstakes casinos are legally obliged to let you play for free and this means that you should face no shortage of special offers both as a new and existing customer. So be sure to take advantage of those bonuses like welcome offers, daily login deals and referral promos to make sure that you don’t have to buy too many Gold Coins packages.
When you join Stake.us and SpinQuest, you can claim 10k GC and 1 SC for free every day. If you want to invite your friends to get in on the action, LoneStar and RealPrize both offer significant rewards for successful sign-ups too.
Each sweepstakes casino will likely feature thousands of slots and table games, and you should remember that each of these games will have different win rates. This is called a game’s return to player (RTP) percentage, and anything above 96% will be better than average. So do a little research ahead of playing each game to make sure that it’s worthy of your time.
Sweepstakes casinos like McLuck and CrownCoins Casino both feature top games like Wanted Dead or a Wild (96.38% RTP), so looking out for hight RTP slots like this could be useful.
Most sweepstakes casinos will have a range of free virtual currency giveaways on their social media channels. These are well worth taking advantage of as you could get lots of free Sweeps Coins just for doing things like sharing posts, tagging friends and so on. Sweeps casinos like Stake.us have referral promos, community chat areas and much more, so it should inspire you to get much more social with your gaming.
You will usually be given a lot more Gold Coins compared to Sweeps Coins via the various bonuses. This means that you may want to prioritize using your Gold Coins as a kind of practice to see which of the casino games are the best fit for your gaming before getting a little more serious with your Sweeps Coins. After all, your Sweeps Coins can potentially be redeemed for real-world prizes.
Just because you are playing with virtual currencies doesn’t mean that you can afford to be careless in how you use it. Instead, it’s probably best to treat your Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins like they were your own money and this means budgeting carefully. So be sure to apply limits on how many Gold Coins packages you purchase and how long you play for each day to keep your sweepstakes gaming in check.
When exploring Sweeps Royal and MegaBonanza, we came across responsible gaming tools and resources that can help keep gameplay fun. Most sweepstakes casinos will have a section like this on the site for players to access help when they need it.
If you are determined to gamble online with your own money, then you’ll be glad to know that it’s perfectly legal to enjoy online sports betting from anywhere in Illinois. This has been the case since June 2020 and you can enjoy betting on anything from the NBA and NFL to the MLB, NHL and beyond.
The Illinois Gaming Board is the central authority who has been given the task of regulating sports betting in the Prairie State. As well as making sure that you get a legal and safe way to bet, the authority enforces the following rules that are specific to Illinois:
While all of the above is true, it’s worth noting that the Illinois Gaming Board recently overturned the rule that required people to complete their sportsbook registration at one of the physical casinos in the state. This basically means that you can sign up to an online sportsbook from anywhere in Illinois.
At the moment, you can legally sign up to nine sports betting apps from anywhere within the Prairie State. While each of these online sportsbooks will have their own merits, we think that the following two brands will give you the best possible introduction to sports betting in Illinois:
You can legally sign up to BetMGM from anywhere in Illinois and the brand will give you a superior way to bet on sports. The brand will give you hundreds of betting lines for each major sporting event, and you can count on the odds being just as good as they are anywhere else.
Not only that but BetMGM has some formidable bonuses too. For example, you can sign up here and get your first bet refunded if it loses by up to $1,500 in bonus bets. Plus there are no end of odds boosts for the biggest sporting events and the legendary MGM Rewards program.
Other things to note include some wonderfully user-friendly betting apps, great customer support and the full range of payment methods too. All you need to get a great way to bet on your favorite sports.
This is an online sportsbook with British origins, but it has wasted no time in conquering the US and has already made a massive impact in the Prairie State. Much of this is down to the fact that bet365 somehow manages to produce some of the best odds on the market, regardless of what you are betting on. Plus the brand hosts one of the most dynamic live betting services and even throws in free live streaming for many top sporting events.
You can sign up to bet365 and get a welcome bonus that gives you $150 in bonus bets for making a $5 opening bet, and it doesn’t even matter if this bet wins or loses. From here you’ll find a massive number of creative promos for specific sports that can do things like give you profit boosts for including most selections in your parlay, or even an early payout if your chosen team takes an early lead. Plus with user-friendly apps, responsive customer support and trusted payment providers, you’ll have a great time here.
It doesn’t matter whether you are backing the Bulls, the Bears, the Cubs, the White Sox or even Blackhawks, as the process of sports betting in Illinois is pretty much the same. This means that you will just have do the following to take your first bets:
Now you can just sit back and watch the sporting action while waiting to see if your prediction was correct. If it was, you will win back your stake multiplied by the odds. If not, you’ll simply lose your stake.
While horse racing is regulated a little differently from regular sports, there is little stopping you from betting on ‘The Sport of Kings’ from anywhere in Illinois.
You can make your horse racing bets in-person at legendary racetracks like the Hawthorne Race Course and Fairmont Park, and there are over a dozen betting parlors dotted around the state. Plus if you want a more convenient way to bet on racing, you can do so via one of the licensed horse betting sites.
Not only can you legally bet on sports in Illinois, but there is also nothing stopping you from enjoying the best in daily fantasy sports either.
The Illinois Supreme Court took plenty of time weighing up the various arguments as to whether fantasy sports was a form of gambling, but eventually decided that it wasn’t. By declaring fantasy sports to be a game of skill, it won’t have to be regulated like it was gambling, and therefore you can legally enjoy DFS all over the Prairie State.
By now you should have a pretty solid idea as to why you cannot legally use any online casinos in Illinois. Thankfully, we have shown you some fun alternative ways to stay entertained, such as spinning the reels at sweepstakes casinos like LoneStar Casino, RealPrize, SpinQuest, CrownCoins Casino, and McLuck. So whether you are playing at one of the many new online sportsbooks or one of our recommended sweepstakes casinos, you can do so in a way that is legal and safe.
Of course, there’s nothing to say that we won’t ever see any Illinois online casinos at some point in the future. After all, if it can happen in Michigan, it can surely happen here. So be sure to check back with this constantly updated guide to see when you might be able to legally play at an online casino in Illinois.
No, it is currently illegal to sign up to any Illinois online casino. So if you see any casino site accepting Illinois customers, it is acting illegally and you would get nothing in the way of customer protection there.
Yes, Illinois is home to many physical casinos all over the state. However, you won’t find an online casinos Illinois site. Sweepstakes casinos make a great online alternative though, and sites like LoneStar Casino, RealPrize, SpinQuest, CrownCoins Casino, and McLuck are just a couple of the top Illinois sites to check out.
There are no concrete plans to introduce online casino gaming in Illinois. However, the recent introduction of House Bill 3080 could eventually pave way for this in the future. That’s why we suggest you check back to this guide regularly, as we’ll be able to bring you the best online casino Illinois guide if things change.
You will have to be at least 21 years old to gamble online in Illinois. So when you sign up to any of the legal online sportsbooks in the state, you will be expected to prove that you are 21 years or older.
There aren’t any legal online casino apps currently in Illinois. However, there are many sweepstakes casinos online that have apps that you can legally download to your device from all over the Prairie State.
Loading …
