You've Found It! List of the Best Illinois Sports Betting Sites 2024
Check out the best IL online sports betting sites
Author:
Matt
Last Updated:
26/09/2024
Topic:
US States
Experiences:
LV native and table games whizz
Topic:
US States
Experiences:
LV native and table games whizz
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Welcome to our guide on finding the best sites for sports betting in Illinois. We know how many options there are to choose from, which is why we want to guide you to the best sites possible.
In our guide, you will learn everything you need to know about how to find the best sports betting sites Illinois has to offer. We will also show you how you can start playing on a site that checks off all the right boxes for you personally as well. Read on to learn how you can do this today.
Who is this article suitable for? For all who love sports betting in IL
Well, if you are a fan of watching sports and betting online, then this is the guide for you. Now, you may be wondering whether this guide is tailored to a certain kind of better or for a bettor with a certain level of experience. The answer is no; our guide to finding the best sites for online betting IL is for every level of bettor.
If you are an experienced betting fan, our guide is perfect for you as it can help you find new and greener pastures for your betting endeavors. We know that, as humans, we can get pretty set in our ways, but when it comes to sites for online betting in Illinois, you need to shake things up once in a while. Our guide can help you do that by showing you which of the new sites in Illinois we think are currently offering you the best sports betting experience.
For all of your newbies reading this, we’ll show you how to make sure you have a safe time gambling online in Illinois. More than that though, we can help you find one of Illinois’ online sports betting sites that is going to suit your experience level. Some sites are just better for betting fans who are new to the concept. All in all, there is something for everyone in our guide, so be sure to keep reading.
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The legal history of sports betting in IL – is sports betting legal in Illinois?
The history of sports betting and gambling, in general, goes back a long way in Illinois. As far as actual sports betting in Illinois goes, people were already betting on horses in the very early 1900s. This was completely legal and happened all around the state at the time.
Between then and today, there were many changes to casino gambling laws as the state introduced more and more gambling opportunities for riverboat gambling clubs and land-based casinos. For sports betting, though, it would have to wait until 2019 before any betting on professional teams was allowed. On June 28th, 2019, sports betting was legalized when the Illinois Sports Wagering Act went through. The first legal online wager was placed on June 18th, 2020, through BetRivers.
In the short period of time since then, Illinois has seen rapid growth in its retail and mobile sports betting industry. It is a hub of excitement in the state, and it brings in a significant amount of tax revenue every month. The trajectory of the revenue still only appears to be going up, with the industry barely scratching the surface of what it could yet still be.
Editor’s recommendation – BetRivers rules over IL
Now that sports betting in Illinois is legal, there are a number of sports betting platforms to choose from. Our veteran sports betting fans may not be daunted by that fact, but for those of you that are still fairly new to the industry, it may prove to be overwhelming. If that is the case, we suggest starting your Illinois online sports betting journey with our editor’s recommendation – BetRivers.
BetRivers is a household name amongst sportsbook fans in the US. It gained a foothold in North America many years ago and since then, it has expanded like wildfire. The platform boasts a number of different sports that cover all major and minor leagues, both nationally and internationally. You can find everything from table tennis, darts, and eSports to golf, tennis, and basketball. There is no shortage of sporting events on the site. Coupled with the plentiful supply of betting markets that they have, sports betting fans can really go nuts with the options available to them.
We would consider BetRivers to be one of the best sports betting IL has to offer. With that said, they are also one of the best Virginia sports betting sites as well. There is so much to enjoy on the BetRivers platform that you may not even know where to start. We will start with a generous welcome bonus and work our way from there. From there, you can test out everything that the site has made available to you while enjoying your new bonus. Either way, if you are unsure about where to kick things off for your sports betting endeavors, we highly recommend that you sink your teeth into the BetRivers platform.
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Five tips to make sure you are gambling safely online in IL
Here at LasVegas-How-To.com, we know how daunting finding a new sports betting site can be. Especially considering how many IL online sportsbooks there are to choose from. If you are unsure if these sites are ever safe to use, then here are a couple of important tips for you to follow when you are in that situation:
Licensing and regulation
One of the key things to do to ensure that one of the sites for sports betting in IL that you are interested in using is safe to do, is to check the licensing and regulation. You can do this fairly easily. All you have to do is navigate to the site itself, head to the bottom of the homepage and see if they have been given their license by the Illinois Gaming Board. If that is the case, you can rest assured that they have jumped through the necessary hoops in order to operate legally in the state. The regulations are very strict, so if they have been given the thumbs up by the Illinois Gaming Board, then you can already start trusting that they are a site you can bet with.
Website security
The next stop on your checklist to ensure that sites for sports betting in Illinois are safe to use is by checking out their platform security. Now, there are a couple of different things you can look for, one of which is a 2-step authentication feature. This will add additional steps to your login and transactions on the platform. This makes it far more difficult for anyone not to access your account or the subsequent funds that are in there.
Professional customer service
Something that goes a long way to building trust between the player and the platform is strong customer service. If customer service is professional, attentive, and responds in a timely fashion, that is already a great sign that this is an operator that cares about its players. Take the time to check out the customer service yourself, with special attention paid to whether or not there is a live chat feature. The more contact methods, the better, as this shows they are trying to have as many open lines of communication with their player base as possible.
Reputable payment methods
Another thing to check out is if these online betting Illinois sites have enough reputable payment methods available. What we mean by this is, do they have payment methods that you are familiar with and payment methods that are known to be safe to use? You should check to see which banks they have listed for wire transfers and ACH transfers. Furthermore, check to see what e-wallets they offer, do they offer Skrill, Neteller, and PayPal? If so, it shows that they are providing you with safe and secure deposit methods to use, which is another step in the right direction for a safe sports betting experience.
Previous user reviews
Lastly, one of the things that we always find useful for checking on the integrity of these Illinois sports betting sites is by reading a decent amount of previous user reviews. These reviews are sometimes tainted by people who are just upset for no reason, but when you read enough of them, they start to form a picture. If this picture seems blatantly negative, then you know you should avoid using that site. However, if most of your fellow Illinois sports betting fans have enjoyed their time on the site, then you can probably assume that it’s at least a decent option to bet with
What we look out for on IL operators’ sites
Now you have a decent idea about how to make sure that your own gambling experience is a safe one with these Illinois online sports books but we also wanted to show you how our expert team conducts reviews of these sites as well. Here is a list of some of the most important criteria that we take into account when we review the best sports betting sites IL has to offer:
Promotions: There are no sports betting fans that don’t enjoy a good promotion or bonus offer when they sign up for one of the best betting sites Illinois has to offer. Our reviews always delve into the promotional offerings that these platforms have to make sure that you never miss out on any exciting bonuses or free bets. We will explain these offers in detail to you, so you know how to claim them, use them and, hopefully, withdraw your winnings from them.
Usability, look and feel: Something that is probably not the first thing on most people’s minds is how the actual site feels when you use it. Is it difficult to navigate, or is everything designed in a way that lends itself to an easy user experience? We will answer these questions with our detailed reviews as we meticulously comb through the site ourselves to see if there are any issues we should let you know about.
License and security: And of course, we will never let you sign up to a site that is shady or that is not operating with any integrity if we can help it. The reviews we conduct go through all of the site’s security features and the current state of their gambling license as well. We leave no stone unturned in this section to make sure the sites are wholly safe before recommending them to you.
Payment methods: You will obviously be making plenty of deposits when you find one of the Illinois online sports betting sites that you like. Our reviews of these sites will shed some light on the available deposit methods you can choose from. We will also let you know if there are any transaction fees that you need to pay when making deposits into your account.
Customer support: The best Illinois gambling sites will all have an exceptional customer service team. Our reviews put this to the test, though, as we check these services out for ourselves. We will give you some insight into what our experience was like using their services and what we felt could have been better.
Rewards program: Even some of the best sports betting sites in Illinois at times won’t offer you a rewards program. These are often the sites you want to avoid because the rewards program shows a commitment to the players who have remained loyal to these sites. Our view of the best sports betting IL has to offer will let you know what these rewards programs have in store for you.
Range of sports: Next on our agenda is to check out the list of sports available on these IL sports betting sites. We shed some light on the range of sports, both nationally and internationally, that you can bet on with these platforms.
Betting markets: Something that, in our eyes, is equally as important as the range of sports on these sites is the betting markets that go with them. Betting markets allow bettors to create fun and exciting bets, whether they are singles, doubles, or complex parlays. It’s all about the betting markets that you use. If you just continually bet on the winner for every match, your betting experience is not going to be all that existing. As such, our reviews analyze the range of these betting markets to make sure it won’t be a dull betting affair for you.
Live betting: In-play betting is not necessarily for everyone, but the bettors who enjoy this type of betting really enjoy it. Our reviews let you know how well these live betting features work if there are any delays when you try to place your live bets, and what some of the live betting markets are like.
Live streaming: Lastly, we take a closer look at these platforms to see if they offer a live streaming service. The best Colorado sports betting sites have live-streaming features, so we always check to see if Illinois betting sites are matching them in this regard.
Find the right operator for you – think about your ideal site
If you are not enthused by our editor’s pick that we made earlier, that is fine. We won’t take that personally (or won’t we?). If that is the case, you’ll need to find a sports betting site in Illinois that you are going to enjoy using. So, how do you go about doing this? How is it very easy Our site covers an inordinate amount of IL online sports betting sites? We have reviewed each of them with meticulous detail so that there is nothing left about these sites that you don’t know. We also have a comparison tool that you can use to filter these detailed reviews so that you can leave yourself with only options that match your interests. That’s where you come in. All you have to do to make this little process work effectively is to think of a few personal preferences that you would like to see on these platforms. You can think of just about anything that would be on your ideal site and then use our comparison tool to help you find a site that matches those preferences amongst our reviews. Take a look at an example of what you might want on your ideal site.
The best welcome bonuses
If welcome bonuses are your thing, we can help you find the best sports betting site in Illinois that has the most generous offers that also have the fairest terms and conditions attached to them as well. You might also want very specific welcome bonuses like a no-deposit offer or a free bet bonus. Whatever the case is, we can help you find it.
Plenty of live betting markets
If you enjoy live betting, but you want to make sure the site has enough live betting markets for the average match, we can help you in that regard as well. The point is, if you are looking for something specific, we can only help you pick from only the best sites for IL online sports betting. Just be sure to think about what is most important to you on these sites. In addition, if you’re into online casinos, then don’t forget to check out our list of the best online casinos in Illinois.
Conclusion of finding the best betting sites IL has to offer
And so we come to the end of our guide to finding your ideal sports betting site in Illinois. Now you see that there is no need to feel overwhelmed by all of the options available to you when you have us by your side, making life easier for you. You’ll be able to find your perfect online betting site in no time after you use our betting resources. Our comparison tool can even help you find the best NY online sportsbooks if you ever find yourself in the Big Apple.
📌Is online sports betting legal in Illinois at the moment?
For those of you who are new to the world of online betting, you may as of yet still be unsure about the legality of online sports betting in Illinois. This is understandable, considering how different all of these states are in the US on legal gambling in the first place. Well, our sportsbook guides at LasVegas-How-To.com will let you know what the current legal situation is regarding online sports betting in a state and help you find the sportsbooks in Illinois.
💲Do the best online sportsbooks in Illinois offer you the chance to claim a bonus?
Bonus offers are part and parcel of the online gambling industry in the US. They are an excellent way to attract new players to a gambling platform, and they are super fun to use for the most part. If you are interested in knowing whether or not Illinois online sportsbooks offer you the chance to claim these kinds of bonuses, just check out our sportsbook bonus reviews to learn more.
📱Do sportsbooks in IL have a mobile app you can bet with?
Mobile apps have become one of the best ways for betting fans to place their bets on teams from right where they stand. It’s convenient and easy. However, not all of the best online sportsbooks in Illinois will have this as an option. As such, our sportsbook app comparisons guide will shed some light on which of the best online sportsbooks in Illinois currently have mobile apps (both iOS and Android) for you to download.