Lawmaker takes another run at legalizing online casinos in Illinois

The new year means a revitalized effort to legalize online casinos in Illinois, as Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr. reintroduced the Internet Gaming Act. Filed as House Bill 4797, the proposal is identical to legislation Gonzalez brought to the table a year ago before it stalled out. The hope, though, is that by addressing concerns regarding responsible gambling and cannibalization of land-based facilities, the bill will pass and potentially create one of the largest online casino markets in the US.

If passed, HB 4797 could create one of the biggest legal iGaming markets in the country. With three skins carved out in the bill per licensee and 17 commercial casinos in the state, that translates to 51 potential real money online casino operators.

Regulators would levy a 25% tax rate for casino apps, which would offer players a wide array of casino games online, including slots, table games, poker and live-dealer titles. Tax revenue would be funneled into the State Gaming Fund, which helps support education and local governments.

As laid out in the bill, operators would pay $250,000 for initial online casino licenses, while the Illinois Gaming Board would be instructed to adopt emergency rules within 90 days of enactment for the iGaming industry to go live as quickly as possible, including which online casino payment methods would be available. Other states' deposit methods range from credit cards to PayPal casinos.

In addition to potentially creating a record-setting iGaming market, the Illinois online casino bill also establishes various requirements for operators to promote and enforce responsible gambling in the state.

That includes casino apps needing to verify users' age, identity and geolocation, all of which confirm players are eligible to play casino games online.

Online casino operators will also be required to offer self-exclusion options for customers who may be suffering from gambling addiction. Like in other states with legal casino apps, platforms will also feature other responsible gambling tools like deposit, bet and spend limits to help users stay within their means and keep online casinos a form of entertainment rather than a reliable source of income.

In addition to all of this, Illinois online casinos would be required to integrate security measures that would protect customers' personal and financial information from potential fraudulent activity.

Mirroring a similar inclusion in the 2025 bill, Gonzalez put in a provision noting that the state cannot issue a license to an operator if its land-based casino partner has reduced its workforce by 25% or more since Feb. 28, 2020. Similarly, regulators won't renew a license if the land-based partner cut its workforce by 25% or more since the last time the license was issued or renewed.

Including this provision is no surprise, especially considering that the majority of resistance to legalizing online casinos stems from the state's video gaming terminal industry, which is the state's largest source of gaming revenue and includes some 50,000 machines across 8,700 locations. The argument has long been that casino apps would drive away revenue from land-based casinos, small businesses, bars and truck stops.

Dan Didech, chair of the House Gaming Committee, said during a 2025 hearing that opponents have "well-founded" concerns regarding iGaming legalization, but that has not deterred Gonzalez from attempting to push legislation across the finish line.

It marks the fourth straight year that lawmakers look to legalize online casinos in Illinois. With the size of the market that is proposed in the bill, the market could contend with the Michigan online casino industry, which is fresh off a record-setting $3.1 billion year.

Grant Lucas