
Real money online casinos in Illinois don’t exist at this point, because real money gaming is yet to be legalized in the land of Lincoln, and there’s no way you’ll expect to see more of it in the coming years.
However, if you’re a casino gaming fan in Illinois, you can still play your favorite casino-style games online at sweepstakes casinos. These sites operate differently from real money online casinos, making them legal in most of the US, including Illinois. Join us as we discuss everything you need to know about sweepstakes casinos and the best ones to join.
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Well, no (at least not yet). This state has pretty legalized every other form of gambling except online casino gaming. Speaking of other types of gaming, the ones currently legal in Illinois include:
Now, if real money online casinos in Illinois aren’t legal, can casino gaming fans in this state still play their favorite games online? Absolutely! Sweepstakes casinos are the perfect alternative for casino gaming enthusiasts in Illinois, as they’re legal here. We will dive into why these sites are legal in Illinois despite offering casino gaming online, but before that, allow us to take you through the legal journey of online casino gaming in this state.
We’ll go back to 2019, when the Illinois legislature passed the Bill, legalizing online sports betting. This gave igaming fans hope that online casinos would also be legalized soon. Back in 2023, several Bills were introduced and juggled between the state’s House of Representatives and Senate for a while. For instance, somewhere in 2023, Illinois Senator Christina Castro introduced a Bill to legalize igaming. Unfortunately, online casino gaming was never legalized.
That being said, let’s now take a look at why sweepstakes casinos are legal in this state.
Sweepstakes casinos are deemed legal in most states, including those that restrict regular online casinos. So why is this the case? You may ask. This is because sweepstakes casinos operate differently from regular online casinos. That being said, here’s a breakdown of the aspects of sweepstakes casinos that make them legal in a majority of the US, including Illinois.
Unlike traditional online casinos, players at sweepstakes casinos don’t use real money to play. Instead, there are virtual currencies, that is, Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, that are for gameplay. Here’s a quick explanation of how these two virtual currencies work:
Gold Coins are the primary currency used to play casino-style games at sweepstakes casinos. Normally, these sites offer Gold Coins for free through bonuses. However, should you need additional Gold Coins, you can purchase GC packages available at sweepstakes sites.
Sweeps Coins are the currency used to play games at sweepstakes casinos. Unlike Gold Coins, Sweeps Coins aren’t purchasable. Instead, these sites offer them for free through bonuses, and as an additional bonus when you purchase a Gold Coin package.
Aside from being used to play games, Sweeps Coins can also be redeemed for cash prizes (and other gifts) at sweepstakes casinos. We’ll talk more about this in a few.
Another aspect that makes sweepstakes casinos legal in Illinois and most other states in the US is that they allow players to play for free.
Sweepstakes sites operate on a “no purchase necessary” policy. This means that one can mostly play for free with the option to purchase additional Gold Coin packages. Free-play at sweepstakes casinos is possible, thanks to the bonuses and promotions they offer, which provide free Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins.
Contrary to traditional online casinos, you cannot win real money at sweepstakes casinos. Instead, you can redeem your Sweeps Coins for cash prizes. However, there are terms and conditions you have to adhere to before you can redeem your SCs for cash prizes and other gifts.
For starters, you must play with your Sweeps Coins to fulfill the site’s SC playthrough requirement before you can redeem them for prizes. For instance, Stake.us has a 3x SC playthrough requirement, meaning you must play with your SCs three times before you can redeem them for prizes. Also, you must have the minimum required number of SCs to redeem them for prizes. Again at Stake.us, you need at least 10 eligible SC to redeem for gift cards and 40-50 eligible SC to redeem for cash prizes. By eligible, we mean those who have been played with.
We’ve looked at the factors that make sweepstakes casinos legal in Illinois. Let’s now take a look at our choices for the best sweepstakes casinos for Illinois casino game fans.
Stake.us is one of the first sweepstakes casinos in the industry, and it has maintained its place as one of the best sites offering an all-around gaming experience. Stake.us is currently legal in 33 states across the US, including Illinois. If you are not impressed, this site has a massive casino-style game library, consisting of over 1,200 games. Among the types of games we’ve played here are:
You get a bit of everything on this site. Stake.us also offers some generous real money online casino Illinois no deposit, or rather, no-purchase bonuses (remember sweepstakes casinos don’t facilitate real money for gaming). Our favorite is the exclusive welcome offer with 560,000 Gold Coins, 56 Sweeps Coins, and a 5% rakeback bonus. All you need to do to get this amazing offer is to use our exclusive code STFSOCIAL during sign-up.
Next up, we have McLuck, which is the perfect sweepstakes casino with an impressive selection of online slots Illinois casino gamers will love. This site has 800+ games, mostly slots of all kinds, such as classic slots, Megaways, jackpot slots, and Hold & Win options.
In addition to slots, McLuck also has a good selection of live dealer table games, including blackjack, baccarat, and roulette.
McLuck also has some pretty decent bonuses, providing ample free Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins to play for free. You’ll especially like its welcome bonus of 7,500 GC and 2.5 SC upon sign-up. This sweepstakes casino is currently allowed to operate in 36 US states, including Illinois.
If you like playing slots, then you’ll love Spree sweepstakes casino. This site also has an extensive selection of casino-style games of over 1,000 options, with most of them being slots. Here, you’ll find classic slots, Megaways, and of course, jackpot slots. Speaking of jackpot slot games, Spree has a special group of slots called multi-tiered progressive jackpot slots. These games have four jackpot levels: mini, minor, major, and XXL. So, the higher the levels, the higher the jackpot prizes.
There are also live dealer table games on this sweepstakes site, for variety. They include blackjack, baccarat, and roulette. Spree also doesn’t hold back when it comes to offering bonuses. We claimed some generous offers here with tons of free Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. This also makes this site one of the few with the best real money online casino Indiana no deposit bonuses, or better still, no-purchase bonuses (again, sweepstakes casinos don’t allow real money gaming). We especially liked the welcome bonus of 1,000,000 GC and 2.5 SC.
Spree is legal across 35 states in the US, including Illinois.
RealPrize is another nice sweepstakes casino offering a decent gaming experience. This site has quite a small number of games, about 400+ options. But on the upside, the types of casino-style games here are impressive. While playing at RealPrize, we came across games such as:
What we really like about this site is that it offers a little bit of everything when it comes to casino-style games. RealPrize is also keen on offering generous bonuses, which we liked. New players are started with a fantastic sign-up offer of 100,000 Gold Coins and 2 Sweeps Coins.
RealPrize is legal in 41 US states, including Illinois.
Finally, we have Lonestar Casino. This is a nice sweepstakes casino, especially for newbies who aren’t into huge casino-style game collections.
This sweepstakes site offers over 400+ games, including slots (which make up a majority of its game collection), several variations of poker, like Texas Hold’em, and Plinko.
Bonus offers is where Lonestar really shines. This site has some fantastic bonuses in store for its players, which offer them more than enough free Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins to play for free. Our favorite is its sign-up bonus of 100,000 GC and 2.5 SC. Lonestar is also allowed to operate in 41 US states, including Illinois.
Here at Stake.com, we take pride in comprehensively reviewing every brand, including sweepstakes casinos. Here’s a brief breakdown of the factors we look into when reviewing a sweepstakes casino site:
Before we conclude, here's a recap of what you need to know about online casino gaming in Illinois.
| Is online casino gaming legal in Illinois? |
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| Forms of gaming legal in Illinois |
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| Best sweepstakes casinos for Illinois casino gaming fans |
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| Legal gaming age in Illinois |
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That's all for this guide on online real money casinos in Illinois. While online casino gaming is yet to be legalized in this state, the several attempts by its legislature to make it legal are a good sign that online casino gaming will be legal here in the future. But in the meantime, if you’re a casino gaming fan in Illinois, be sure to join Stake.us, McLuck, Spree, RealPrize, or Lonestar, and play your favorite casino-style games on a legal sweepstakes site.
If you’re interested in playing at any of these sites, simply click on the links on the banners of this page and see what fun you can experience in Illinois sweepstakes casinos – all free from legal worries in the long run.
No, real money online casino gaming isn't legalized in this state.
You need to be 21 years or older to gamble physically and online while in Illinois.
You can play casino-style games online at sweepstakes casinos while in Illinois. These sites are legal in a majority of the US, including this state.