Best Illinois Sports Betting Sites

Online sports betting officially went live in the Land of Lincoln back in June 2020, and since then the industry’s biggest brands have planted their roots.

Below, you will find all you need to know about the seven best Illinois sportsbooks that you can sign up for and place your bets with in 2024: 

FanDuel Sportsbook launched its site in Illinois in August 2020. They have since reached partnership agreements with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Bulls.

Few Illinois sportsbooks offer more betting markets than FanDuel — and notably, FanDuel provides very competitive futures odds for the Blackhawks and Bulls.

In addition to that, FanDuel boasts one of the best mobile apps in the business, making for arguably the best live betting experience of any Illinois sports betting site.

Currently, FanDuel owns a retail partnership with FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing in Collinsville. They also have a land-based agreement with Par-A-Dice Casino.

After going live in Illinois in March 2022, BetMGM Sportsbook teamed up with Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino in East Peoria for a retail sports betting partnership.

BetMGM has a lot to offer, beginning with its incredibly clean user interface and site/app design. This makes your betting experience aesthetically pleasing through and through.

While BetMGM doesn’t have any exclusive partnership with Illinois sports franchises, they do offer some unique markets, such as the following options for Chicago Blackhawks betting: Stanley Cup Winner from the Original Six, To Make the Playoffs and more.

The Chicago White Sox have integrated Caesars Entertainment and Caesars Sportsbook branding into the team’s marketing efforts, merchandise and experiences as a result of an exclusive partnership agreement.

Caesars certainly isn’t lacking in terms of betting markets and available bet types. You should particularly enjoy their favorable odds in the futures markets for various sports.

Meanwhile, Caesars has retail locations at both Harrah’s Joliet and Harrah’s Metropolis. The online sports betting site launched in Illinois during March 2022.

It was also August 2020 when DraftKings Sportsbook joined the sports betting fold in Illinois. The operator has a retail partnership with Casino Queen in East St. Louis.

DraftKings is neck and neck with FanDuel in many regards, including betting markets, bet types, mobile experience and promotions.

Moreover, DraftKings inked what’s known as a “Year-Round Entertainment Experience” with Wrigley Field, the home of the MLB’s Chicago Cubs.

Finally, the DraftKings “bet & get” welcome bonus works as follows: Sign up for a new DraftKings account and place your first bet of at least $5 and you will get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins.

Fanatics Sportsbook is another new operator in the industry, and they just recently planted their roots in Illinois, going live in April 2024.

You can benefit from all of the usual key sportsbook features when betting at Fanatics, including live streaming, in-game betting and early cashout.

Fanatics is intent on creating an elite user experience, and that is accomplished in part by the FanCash Rewards program, where users can use the credit they earn from betting to purchase Fanatics merchandise.

The first step to betting on sports in Illinois is narrowing down your search for a sportsbook. Consider aspects like each site’s welcome bonus, betting options and app quality. 

Once you decide – and it’s recommended you sign up for multiple sportsbooks to take advantage of more than one sign-up offer – it’s time to complete the registration process. 

A standard sign-up process looks something like this:

After agreeing to the sportsbook’s terms and conditions, you will be taken to the homepage. Sometimes, the site will ask you to share your location. Other possible requests include verifying your email address and verifying your identity by uploading a form of ID. 

Next, you need to make an initial deposit to fund your newly-created account. Usually, the minimum deposit amount will be either $5 or $10. Remember to consider the site’s sign-up bonus when making this first deposit.

Once your account has money in it, you can begin placing bets. Simply navigate to the sport you wish to bet on, select a wager to add to your betslip and click submit. You can then view your active bets under a section that’s almost always titled “My Bets”. 

The state of Illinois is home to five major professional sports franchises as well as some prominent college athletic programs. You can comfortably wager on your favorite Illinois sports teams at each of the seven aforementioned legal sportsbooks.

The most successful professional sports team in Illinois this century has been the Chicago Blackhawks, winning Stanley Cup titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Check out the odds that each Illinois team has for winning their league’s next championship

All of the odds in the table below are provided by Caesars Sportsbook at the time of publication

The Chicago Bears are currently in a multi-year partnership agreement with BetRivers Sportsbook, and the NFC North franchise will have a new signal caller under center in 2024 after drafting Caleb Williams first overall.

The Chicago Blackhawks have a partnership with FanDuel Sportsbook, and are looking ahead to the 2024-25 NHL season.

Illinois is represented by two MLB franchises, the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox. The Cubs play at the historic Wrigley Field and have three World Series titles in their history. After winning it all in 1907 and 1908, they went 108 years before winning another another one in 2016. The Cubs have a partnership agreement with DraftKings Sportsbook.

Chicago’s other MLB team, the White Sox, also only have three total World Series titles. As with the Cubs, only one of them (2005) came in the last 100 years. The White Sox have a partnership agreement with Caesars Sportsbook.

Finally, you have the Chicago Bulls who represent Illinois in the NBA as one of the league’s most historic franchises. Like the Blackhawks, (who share an arena with the Bulls), the Bulls also have a partnership with FanDuel.

Yes, you can bet on college sports in Illinois, but to bet on an in-state school, you must do so at a retail sportsbook location.

Wagering on out-of-state schools is permitted at online sportsbooks, but schools like the Illinois Fighting Illini can only be bet on in person.

As you know by now, the biggest sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, etc. are all operating in Illinois, and these top-tier sportsbooks offer all of the betting markets that you could want. 

Here are some examples of the most popular Illinois sports betting markets:

There is no bigger sport to bet on in America than football, both the NFL and college football. One of the most popular football bets to make today is the “anytime touchdown” prop, where you’ll cash if the player you bet on finds his way into the end zone. Betting against the spread, however, is historically the most common way to bet on a football game.  

Player props own the world of basketball betting as it’s such a player-centric sport, but there are also your standard moneylines, point spreads and totals bets available. Popular player props include points scored, rebounds, assists, made threes and more. 

Betting on baseball is great because there are several games just about every day throughout the season. The most popular bet types include moneyline, run line, total runs and player props. Common player props you’ll find are “Player X to hit a home run” or “Player Y to have over/under Z strikeouts”.  

The three main hockey bet types are moneyline, puck line and total. From there, the next most common hockey bets are player props like goalscorers and game props like who will win each period. 

A unique aspect of soccer betting is the inclusion of ties/draws. Moneylines are generally divided into three (Team X, Team Y and draw), and you can regularly find plus odds on all three outcomes. You can also place a variety of player props, including goals, shots, assists, corners and even penalties.  

An individual sport like golf comes along with some unique betting possibilities. You can make wagers like tournament winner, round leader, round score, finishing position, head-to-head matchups and more. 

The two most popular kinds of tennis bets are moneyline and set bets. 

Notably, these aren’t the only betting markets that are offered at the best Illinois sportsbooks. Niche markets are also available, such as combat sports, cricket, cycling, darts, handball, lacrosse, motor sports, rugby, snooker, table tennis and volleyball.

The Illinois sports betting scene is among the best in the United States, largely due to the fact that Illinois residents are offered the industry’s best sportsbooks. 

Illinois only trails New Jersey, New York and Nevada in overall sports betting handle and revenue. The synergy between the Illinois online sportsbooks and the land-based sportsbook locations makes for a user-friendly experience.

Illinois sports betting has everything going for it. The only minor drawback at this point is having to bet in-state college teams/games in person rather than being able to do so online. 

Still, that’s less restrictive than a state like Vermont where you can’t bet on in-state schools anywhere, except during national tournaments.  

The most recent data shows that the state of Illinois brought in a handle of $1,286,243,926 in January 2024, to go along with a revenue of $129,511,642 that month. That happened to be the biggest month of revenue in Illinois online sports betting history. 

Meanwhile, Fanatics Sportsbook is the newest member of the Illinois sports betting tree, launching in April 2024. Before that, it was ESPN BET that entered the scene, which was back in November 2023.

Illinois has always taken responsible gambling seriously — and over the years — they have created several resources to provide assistance to those who need it. 

For anyone who has or knows someone who has a gambling problem, please feel free to call 1-800-GAMBLER or text ILGAMB to 833234. These helplines are toll-free. 

There is a high-quality online sports betting scene in Illinois in 2024. If you reside in or are visiting the state, you can choose from over half a dozen of the country’s most renowned online sportsbooks. 

Since accepting its first online sports wager in June 2020, the state of Illinois has managed to agree to terms with prominent brands like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars, among others.

Betting on local teams like the Bears, Bulls, Cubs, etc. is readily available at every Illinois sportsbook in operation. The Illinois sports betting industry is one of the best in America.