If you live in Illinois and you want to bet the Bears, the Bulls, the Cubs, the White Sox, or the Blackhawks from your phone, you can. Illinois sports betting has been legal online since June 2020, and the state has grown into one of the biggest and most competitive markets in the country. That competition is the whole story of this guide: when ten books are all pricing the same Cubs moneyline, the app you open matters far less than the number you take. Below is what the sportsbook ads skip, including the college rule that catches people out, and the money most Illinois bettors hand over without noticing.
TL;DR
- Is It Legal? Yes. Online sports betting has been legal in Illinois since June 2020, overseen by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB). You must be 21 or older and physically inside the state.
- Which Books? Roughly 10 licensed online operators, including the major national sportsbooks you know from TV.
- The Rule To Know: Illinois blocks wagering on in-state college games, and college player props are restricted. Out-of-state college game lines and the pro markets are available, subject to IGB approval and each book's own rules.
- The Edge Nobody Advertises: with that many books pricing the same games, the same bet carries different prices. The OddsShopper live odds screen shops 100+ books across covered markets, which is one of the simplest advantages an Illinois bettor actually controls.
Is Sports Betting Legal In Illinois?
Yes. Online sports betting is legal in Illinois and has been since June 2020, when the state's regulated online market went live. Betting is overseen by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB), the agency that licenses the state's online sportsbooks and enforces the rules they operate under. The legal question is settled; the rules underneath it are not frozen, so check the IGB's current rules before placing anything in a restricted market.
The OddsShopper Odds Screen.
A few basics apply at every legal Illinois sportsbook:
- You Must Be 21 Or Older to place a bet.
- You Must Be Physically Inside Illinois when you place it. Apps use geolocation to confirm you are in-state, so trying to bet from across the border in Indiana or Wisconsin on an Illinois account will not work.
- You Do Not Have To Be An Illinois Resident. A visitor who is 21+ and standing in the state can bet.
Six years live with a full field of operators has made Illinois one of the deepest, most competitive markets in the country, and that matters for one practical reason. With so many books chasing the same bettors, prices on the same wager drift apart, and comparing them before you bet is where careful bettors find their value. We will show you exactly what that is worth in dollars a few sections down. (Betting laws vary state to state; see our sports betting by state guides for the rules where you live, and our sports betting 101 primer if this is your first account.)
Which Illinois Sports Betting Apps Are Live?
Illinois is home to roughly 10 licensed online operators, including the major national sportsbooks. The books below are the big-name examples, not the full list, because the IGB licenses additional operators and publishes its current roster before you sign up:
| Sportsbook | Status in Illinois |
|---|---|
| DraftKings 🎁 | Live |
| FanDuel 🎁 | Live |
| BetMGM 🎁 | Live |
| Caesars Sportsbook 🎁 | Live |
| Bet365 | Live |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | Live |
| BetRivers 🎁 | Live |
At any given moment those books are not showing the same number on the same market. That is not a glitch or a stale line. It is each book pricing its own margin, which is why the count of licensed operators matters more than the names in the table. So here is the actual Illinois workflow: open accounts at two or three of them, filter the odds screen down to the books you hold, compare the same market across all of them, and take the best price before you confirm the bet. Several more operators round out the field, and every one of them is another price on the bet you were already going to make.
Key takeaway: The same bet is priced differently at each book. Open accounts at a few of the Illinois online sportsbooks, compare before you bet, and take the better price. Sign-up offers are a fine reason to open that second and third account, and our sportsbook promos roundup tracks the current ones, including the BetMGM bonus code.
Illinois Sports Betting Rules And Restrictions
Illinois offers a broad legal market with one area of restriction that catches people off guard, so it is worth knowing before you go looking for a specific bet:
- In-State College Games Are Off The Board, And College Player Props Are Restricted. Illinois does not allow wagering on college games involving in-state programs (Illinois, Northwestern and DePaul among them), and college player props are restricted. Out-of-state college game lines are still available at the licensed books. The exact scope of the prop restriction is the part worth checking rather than assuming, so confirm it with your sportsbook or the IGB before you place any college bet.
- 21-And-Up, In-State Only. You have to be at least 21 and physically located in the state to bet, and the apps confirm it through geolocation every time you place a wager.
- Bet Through Licensed, Regulated Apps. Sticking to IGB-licensed operators gives you regulated books with state oversight. Offshore and unregulated sites are not legal operators and carry real risk to your money.
Key takeaway: The college rule is the one that catches Illinois bettors out. Games involving in-state programs are off the board and college player props are restricted, so confirm the current scope with the IGB. Out-of-state college lines and the pro markets are broadly available, subject to IGB approval and each sportsbook's rules.
Everything else you would expect is on the board at the licensed books: moneylines, spreads, totals, parlays, live and in-game betting, pro player props, and season-long futures like the Bears' NFL win total. Available markets still vary by sportsbook, so it is worth confirming the current rules for a given bet before you go hunting for it.
How OddsShopper Helps Illinois Bettors
This is where the "best Illinois betting apps" lists stop short. Once you have accounts at a few of the Illinois sportsbooks, the question stops being which app and becomes which app has the best number on the bet I want right now. That answer changes bet to bet, and no single sportsbook is best on everything. If I could hand a new Illinois bettor exactly one habit, this is the one I keep coming back to.
Line shopping is the habit of checking every book's price before you bet and taking the best one. It sounds small, it costs you nothing, and it is the most reliable advantage available to a bettor in a crowded market. Living inside a single app leaves money on the table on almost every bet. (If plus and minus prices are still new to you, our guide to reading betting odds covers the mechanics.)
A Quick Example: Line Shopping A Cubs Moneyline
Here is the number we promised. Say one Illinois book has the Cubs at -150 and another has the same Cubs moneyline at -140. Identical bet. At -150 you risk $150 to win $100; at -140 you risk $140 to win $100. Once you have decided to make that bet, -140 is the price to take, and you just cut $10 of risk off a $100 return without changing a single opinion about the game. Repeat that across a season and those better prices meaningfully reduce what it costs you to bet the same opinions. Same wager, better price.
The reason that gap exists at all is the book's built-in margin, the vig, and the two books above are simply charging different amounts for it. Our guide to removing the vig shows how to strip it out and see what a market really thinks. This is exactly what OddsShopper automates across the Illinois market:
| Tool | What it does for an Illinois bettor |
|---|---|
| Odds screen (line shopping) | Tracks 100+ sportsbooks across covered markets in real time. Filter to the books you hold in Illinois and take the best available price, instead of eyeballing two apps. Walkthrough: how to use the odds screen. |
| No-Vig / Fair-Odds Pricing | Strips the book's margin to show the true price of a bet, so you can see which book is actually offering value. |
| +EV Screen | The tool surfaces the wagers priced in your favor relative to the sharp market, ranked by expected ROI (xROI) and expected win %, so you can judge which prices may offer value before you bet. |
| Arbitrage Tool | Our arbitrage finder surfaces spots where two Illinois books disagree enough to back both sides for a positive return. Lines move, limits apply, and execution risk remains, so it is low-risk, never risk-free (see our arbitrage guide). |
| Hold Display | Shows how much margin a book baked into a market before you bet it. |
The row we point new bettors to first is the +EV screen. It takes the same instinct behind the Cubs example, take the better-than-it-should-be number, and applies it to every covered market at once, so you are choosing from bets already screened on price. If you would rather see what that looks like on a real card before subscribing, our free expert picks are posted daily.
The important point for an Illinois reader: these tools work wherever the books post lines. They are not tied to a state. Because Illinois already has a deep field of operators pricing the same games, there is plenty of price to compare, which is exactly the environment where line shopping and +EV pay off most. Michigan bettors get the same treatment on their own book list, as our Michigan guide lays out.
What is "+EV"? A positive-expected-value (+EV) bet is one where the price you are getting is better than the true odds of the outcome. You will not win every one, and results depend on how accurate that price is and how well you execute, but +EV is the framework sharp bettors use to judge whether a number is worth taking. It is the Cubs example scaled up: take the number that is better than it should be. More in our expected value guide.
One note tied to the rules above: with in-state college games off the board and college props restricted, point these tools at the markets you can bet, meaning pro game lines, totals, pro props, futures, out-of-state college lines, and parlays built from them. And whatever the number says, size the bet sensibly. Our bankroll management guide covers how much of your roll any single bet should ever be.
Responsible Gambling In Illinois
Betting should stay fun and stay within what you can afford to lose. If it stops being either, help is free and confidential:
- Problem-Gambling Help. For confidential, 24/7 support at no cost, confirm the current Illinois helpline through the Illinois Gaming Board, or call 1-800-GAMBLER where available. The Illinois Gaming Board also publishes responsible-gaming resources.
- Self-Exclusion: the Illinois Gaming Board publishes self-exclusion and responsible-gaming resources covering the state's licensed operators. Enroll through the IGB directly, and check the terms with them before you sign up.
You must be 21 or older to bet in Illinois. Set a budget before you start, never bet money you need, and do not chase losses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sports betting legal in Illinois? Yes. Online sports betting has been legal in Illinois since June 2020, and it is regulated by the Illinois Gaming Board. You must be 21 or older and physically located in the state to place a bet.
When did sports betting launch in Illinois? Illinois's legal online market went live in June 2020, and it has since grown into one of the deepest and most competitive in the country, with roughly ten licensed operators.
Which Illinois sports betting apps are available? The big-name national books are live in Illinois, including DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, bet365, Fanatics and BetRivers, and more licensed operators round out the field. The IGB publishes the current list.
Can you bet on college sports in Illinois? Partly. Games involving in-state college programs are off the board, and college player props are restricted, so confirm the current scope with the IGB before you go looking for one. Out-of-state college game lines are still available at the licensed books, as is the pro card.
Do you have to live in Illinois to bet there? No. You do not need to be a resident, but you must be 21 or older and physically inside Illinois when you place a bet, which the apps confirm through geolocation.
What is the best way to bet in Illinois? Hold accounts at two or three licensed books rather than living in one app, then compare prices before every bet and take the better number. The OddsShopper odds screen does that comparison across 100+ books for you.
- Louisiana Sports Betting Guide: Rules, Promos & Strategy
- Arizona Sports Betting: Is It Legal? Apps & Rules
- Massachusetts Sports Betting: Is It Legal? Apps & Rules
- Michigan Sports Betting: Is It Legal? Apps & Tools
- Sports Betting Pennsylvania: Is It Legal? Apps & Tools
The Bottom Line
Illinois answered its legal question in June 2020. What is left is the practical one, and it is the thread this whole guide has been pulling: in a market where ten operators price the same Cubs game, your edge is not which app you downloaded, it is whether you checked the others before you tapped confirm. Be 21 and in-state, stay on the licensed apps, treat the college markets as restricted until the IGB or your sportsbook says otherwise, and shop the price on everything else. That habit will not guarantee a profit. What it does is make sure you are never taking a worse number than the market was already offering you.
New to OddsShopper? It scans 100+ sportsbooks across covered markets and shows you the best available price, then flags the wagers priced in your favor: the exact line-shopping habit this guide describes, done for you in seconds. You can try OS Pro free for 7 days, and code ILBET20 takes 20% off your first payment on OS Pro or OS Core.
Betting on legal U.S. sportsbooks only, 21+. If gambling stops being fun, call 1-800-GAMBLER where available, or contact the Illinois Gaming Board for the current state helpline.
