Legal Gambling Age in Illinois

All locals and guests of state can make real-money bets on sports if they are 21 years old and older. In-person betting, as well as mobile apps, are available legally in a regulated manner.

To play at land-based casinos in the state, one has to reach the Illinois gambling age which is 21 years old. At the time of writing this post, land-based commercial casinos are available in several cities in the state. Riverboat casinos on cruise ships, on the other side, were legal only till 2019 and now they are in the process of acquiring the license.

Online casinos, on the other hand, remain illegal.

Poker has been recently legalized in the state and surprisingly it is allowed both offline and even online. As for the gambling age in IL that makes people eligible for participation in poker games, it is still unclear because some say it is 18 and others say it is 21. We suggest that since casinos are available at 21, poker should also be available at 21.

Currently, Daily Fantasy Sports are not regulated officially but they are also not legally prohibited. As a result, this activity exists in the gray area and there is no set minimum age. However, since people still manage to find illegal platforms to play, most sites only allow access to individuals that have reached the minimum age generally accepted in the state which is 21.

Both online lottery and lottery tickets bought from a retailer are allowed in the state but the person should be 18 years old minimum. Plus, the buyer has to be physically present in Illinois, be a resident of Illinois, and have a registered Lottery account for online games.

Charitable Bingo is available to anyone in the state who is 18 years old. The rules for online Bingo are currently not clear so probably players should check them out separately for their counties.

The gambling age in Illinois for betting on horse races is 21. Horse racing is legal and bets on it are also allowed on track and off-track.