Best Illinois Online Casino Sites September 2024

Social casinos have everything that players are looking for when it comes to engaging in their favorite slots, table games, and card games. Though your wagers aren't made with your own funds, meaning there are no gambling winnings in the form of cash profit, they provide a great social platform for bettors to play the games they love and the opportunity to even win prizes using sweepstakes coins (more on those later). Opening a new account with any of the available social Illinois casinos takes just a few minutes, and you'll earn a hefty welcome bonus offer when you use the links and promo codes that we've provided in this review.

Sweepstakes casinos are fun to play, easy to use, and never require you to use any of your own funds. You can purchase additional coins throughout your experience, but social casinos do an excellent job of replenishing your social currency so you're always able to play the games you love most.

Players have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to Illinois social casinos. Our experts have signed up with every social casino, used their operations, purchased coins, and tested out both online games and customer experience. With all that in mind, we've ranked the following options as the best ones for players in the state to use as an alternative until Illinois decides to legalize online casinos.

Slots, slots, and more slots. If you love the thrill of spinning reels, you'll want to check out the High 5 Social Online Casino  in Illinois. There are hundreds of options to choose from, and we love the "boost" feature that increases potential payouts on those spins. Table games and card games are also options, but we think you'll fall in love with the slots options here.

If you're looking for bonuses and recurring promotions that give you a leg up on the house, WOWVegas is the place to be. An abundance of slots and table games means you can find and play something different each time you log in, and you'll have the chance to increase your payouts at no additional cost.

Casino games are obviously fun, but sometimes it's fun to go off the beaten path a little bit. You'll have that option at Horseplay Sweepstakes, which provides players with the opportunity to play a handful of unique games like scratch-offs and arcades, all of which give you the chance to move up leaderboards and earn even more bonuses.

McLuck social casino is one of Illinois' most popular online casinos. With a host of elite table games, slots, and jackpot plays, you'll always have some incredible options to choose from. It features one of the industry's leading welcome bonus offers, and the jackpot spins you can use feel similar to Lottery games you'd find in Illinois.

Players in Illinois may recognize this name from its sports betting arm, but BetRivers.net also provides a stellar social casino gaming experience for all those involved. We're big fans of the variety of options players will have to choose from, which includes live dealer games that will make you feel like you're sitting in Argosy Casino Alton without leaving your home.

Vegas Gems is one of the newer social casinos offered in Illinois, but it's already making waves thanks to its abundance of games, unique rewards program, and solid welcome bonus offer. The global leaderboard is a fun way to see how you stack up against the competition.

You'll never run out of slot machine options at Sweeptastic social casino in Illinois, which offers more than 400 games. The Players' Club is a fun rewards program that can earn you some significant bonuses and spins with every wager you place.

All social Illinois casinos will provide players with an excellent sign-up bonus to kick off their online gambling experience. However, each of the casino sites has a unique offer that can come in a handful of different shapes and sizes. Here's a look at the variety of options you may find when signing up at any and all of the social Illinois casinos we've listed later in the review.

Gold coins are social currency that have no monetary value. Players will receive a large sum of gold coins upon signing up and can earn them throughout their experience by climbing leaderboards, completing challenges, or simply logging in. Players can also buy more gold coins.

Sweepstakes coins can never be purchased but free sweeps coins are often attached to the purchase of gold coins. These sweeps coins, sometimes referred to as SC, can be played in the same games like online poker, but can eventually be redeemed for prizes. It's the closest you can get to winning something of real substance while online gambling at social casinos.

Some operators will provide players with free play options, which is as simple as it sounds. You can play any number of games (typically slots) without using any of the gold coins or sweeps coins you've earned during registration.

Virtual credits are another name for gold coins, where they act as virtual currency at social casino sites. You will always have access to virtual credits to play your favorite games.

Diamonds have some extra value for those who participate in social online casino gambling. These diamonds can be purchased and allow players to unlock certain features of a social casino, which can provide you with more ways to win on your favorite games.

Some operators will offer the ability to win chests on the games they play, which "hold" additional coins, bonuses, or other perks that can then be used during your social online casino gaming experience.

Players can find gems at certain social casinos throughout their gameplay, which act the same as diamonds. Find (or purchase) gems to increase your chances of success and move up leaderboards at your favorite games.

Welcome bonuses

A welcome bonus offer is always something that all types of players should grab when signing up for their new account. This welcome bonus offer stems from using the appropriate promo code where applicable, and it gives you a large sum of gold coins and sweeps coins to get your social gaming experience started. Whatever your welcome bonus is, you can use it on all different types of online casino games. All Illinois casinos offer a welcome bonus to new players, and these are always free to earn at social casino sites.

Licensing

There are a handful of offshore casinos and unlicensed options that we recommend staying away from. The social casinos we've listed here are licensed and registered with the Illinois Gaming Board. That means the games you're playing are regulated to give you a fair chance at winning, which is important even if you're playing for social fun rather than cash profit like you would at an online casino site.

Security and Player Safety

We check all social casinos for security systems, certifications, and valid SSL encryption. There's never been a major breach at any social casino, so players can rest easy knowing that their personal information and banking information is safe and secure. Players should use strong passwords and turn on multi-factor authentication so they can protect themselves even further.

Variety of Games

Illinois players will have their favorite online casino games they want to play, but it's good that social casinos offer a variety of them for when you're looking for something a little different. What's nice is that social casinos mirror with Illinois casinos at retail locations like Argosy Casino Alton provide. Whether you want to gamble online with slot machines, blackjack, roulette, or baccarat, you'll have that option. Some social casinos on that list only have slots, but players can sign up for multiple social casinos if they're looking for specific sweepstakes casino games.

Mobile Casino Apps

Now that just about everyone has a smartphone and/or tablet, mobile casino apps are essential to the online casino gaming experience. Many of the operators we've listed in this review have mobile casino apps, or at the very least feature websites that are compatible with mobile web browsers. Some of the sweepstakes casino apps are so good that you may wind up using them even when you have computer access.

Banking Options

Though social casinos are always free to use meaning there are no gambling winnings to worry about, players have the option to purchase gold coins. That means having various banking options such as credit and debit cards to use when making those purchases. Players will have plenty of methods to choose from, and deposits make funds available immediately. It's one of the main reasons we recommend using legal and licensed social casinos rather than offshore casinos, which have funky deposit and withdrawal options that can keep your funds for up to weeks.

Customer Service

Social casinos are well established in most U.S. states, meaning they've worked out the majority of kinks and hiccups that would otherwise disrupt the casino site experience. For any smaller issues that may arise, many social casinos have customer support options in the form of either a live chat, phone number, or email. Many social casinos have active social media accounts that will respond if you message them.

Responsible Gambling

Though this matters less for social casino games where the majority of games have no monetary value, it's still important for social casinos to make sure their players are betting responsibly. Because players have the option to purchase more coins, responsible gaming matters. Thankfully, all social casinos offer resources to help players who are in need of help.

There continue to be new options for online gambling in Illinois, with a few new names entering the market. Players can also look forward to signing up with and using the new social casinos that recently launched. Here's a quick look at those ones.

Sweeptastic New Online Illinois Casino

Sweeptastic is a new social casino that provides players with more than 400 different slot machines to choose from and a stellar rewards program called the Players' Club.

Horseplay New Illinois Online Casino

Horseplay isn't for horse racing but instead offers players a great social casino complete with slots, scratch tickets, and arcades. Though we'd like to see a few more games from them, we're confident they'll continue to add more as they get their feet wet in the world of social casino gaming.

WowVegas New Online Casino Illinois

With more than 800 casino games and one of the industry's top welcome bonus offers, WowVegas is making a name for itself in the world of social Illinois casinos.

What's great about social casinos that act as Illinois gambling sites is that players will have access to a plethora of different games. It differs by social casino, but the vast majority of them will have a number of excellent options and the same games you'd find at legal online casinos. Whether it's online blackjack, a dozen table games, or hundreds of different online slots, you'll have options after signing up with the social casino of your choice.

🂡 Blackjack

Online blackjack is a the world's most popular casino card game in online gambling where players try to achieve a hand value of 21 or as close as possible without exceeding it, while also beating the dealer's hand. High 5 social casino is known for having a terrific user interface and gaming experience with online blackjack.

💰 Roulette

Roulette games are involve players betting on where a ball will land on a spinning wheel divided into numbered and colored pockets. It is entirely a game of chance but largely considered one of the most popular free games to play at any social casino. McLuck social casino is known for its terrific roulette games for players to wager on.

🎰 Slots

Slot machines are a type of casino game where players spin reels with various symbols in hopes of matching combinations to win prizes. Social casino games include hundreds of different slots with unique themes, and there are new ones being added constantly to keep gameplay fresh. WOW Vegas has more than 900 different online slot machines for players to choose from.

🏆 Live Dealer Games

Live dealer games are online casino games where a real-life dealer conducts the game in real-time via video stream, allowing players to participate and interact from their devices while giving them the feel of real land based casinos. BetRivers.net, which also features one of the state's top online sportsbooks, has live dealer games for players to get that feel.

💵 Baccarat

Baccarat is a card game where players bet on whether the player's hand or the banker's hand will have a total closest to nine, or if the game will result in a tie. Players simply choose a side; they aren't required to bet on the player's hand, and they don't have a say in the cards that are dealt.

🕹 Video Poker

Video poker is casino game that combines elements of both slots and poker, where players aim to make the best possible five-card poker hand using cards dealt on a video screen. Players are not betting against other players at a table in video poker.

Players looking to get started at new sweepstakes casinos can do so by following just a few simple steps. The registration process takes just a few minutes to complete, with players gaining access to their online casino bonuses and access to online slots, table games, card games, and more in just a few minutes. Here's what to do to get started at social casinos (and online casinos once those are legalized in the state):

Click any of the links provided in this article to begin your registration for a new account at the social casino of your choice; clicking the link will automatically add the necessary promo code to unlock your welcome bonus offer

Provide the social casino with all of your relevant personal information to create your account and prove your identity; all players must be 18+ years old and physically located in Illinois or any other state where the social casino is operating

Complete registration and log into your new account; players can purchase gold coins if they choose, but there's never any financial requirement when playing social casino games. If you do want to purchase coins, you can use credit and debit cards among other banking options

Lottery games from the Illinois lottery, online sports betting, video gambling, and land based casinos are all legal in Illinois. Players can even play an online Lottery. The state has been one of the more proactive in the country about giving its players access to wager, but that does not yet include legal online casino gambling.

Though the transformation of legal online gambling on sports betting has been quick, the same can't be said for online casino games. There are no Illinois online gambling sites for casino games, which is the case in all states except NJ, PA, MI, CT, and WV. It's unknown when the state may legalize online casinos and there doesn't seem to be a rush from the Illinois Gaming Board to do so. That's what makes social casinos so appealing to those looking to gamble online.

It's tough to say what the future holds for online gambling in Illinois. We can say for certain that it isn't close as there's no real legislation that is close to the final stages of being passed into law. That being said, things can move quickly, and Illinois certainly has been at the forefront of the trends in the online gambling industry, having legalized online sports betting in 2019. Whatever the future holds, Bookies.com will have the latest updates so players know what the status of online gambling sites in Illinois looks like.

Yes, the beauty of social casinos is that they live in almost every U.S. state. That includes Illinois, allowing players in the state to access online casino games without using their own funds. It's a great alternative to the lack of Illinois gambling sites and lets players play their favorite games from the comfort of their own homes compared to land-based casinos in the state. The legal gambling age with social casinos is 18, which provides more access when compared to Illinois casinos, where you must be at least 21 years old.

Online sports betting is legal in Illinois. It launched in 2020, nearly a year after it was legalized. Given the number of historic teams in the state, online sports betting is wildly popular, with Illinois featuring all of the industry's top online sportsbooks. There are also a handful of legal retail sportsbooks for those looking to make bets in person, but online sports betting allows Illinois players to take advantage of elite welcome bonus offers when they register for new accounts, which can now be done online.