Best Sportsbook Apps in Illinois (2026)

Illinois legalized sports betting in 2019 and it is regulated by the Illinois Gaming Board. The market is open to both online and retail betting. Retail books opened in 2020 at the state's casinos and racetracks; online followed later the same year.

The licensed online operators in Illinois are DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, ESPN BET, bet365. That roster, and the state's tax and registration rules, is what actually shapes the betting experience, which is why it differs from one state to the next.

• Online launched with mandatory in-person registration at a retail casino - a rule that was lifted in 2022 after operators lobbied against it.
• Illinois is one of the highest-tax online markets and a perennial top-five state by handle.
• The state allows betting at professional sports venues in addition to casinos and racetracks.

Illinois sports betting is live for both online and retail betting, and the apps you can actually download depend on that setup. The operators live in Illinois are DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, ESPN BET and bet365. Start there, because a sportsbook that is not licensed in your state will not let you fund or place a bet.

Online launched with mandatory in-person registration at a retail casino - a rule that was lifted in 2022 after operators lobbied against it.

Illinois is one of the highest-tax online markets and a perennial top-five state by handle.

For a Illinois bettor, the practical differences are speed of line movement, market depth, and how cleanly the app shows live prices. A good prop app updates lines in real time and shows the full menu - points, rebounds, passing yards, total bases - not just the headline markets.

Keep Illinois's tax treatment in mind when you compare promos. The state allows betting at professional sports venues in addition to casinos and racetracks. A welcome offer is only worth what it nets you after the state's tax rules.

Rather than picking one Illinois app on reputation, look at the live lines each one is posting. We pull the props that licensed books actually publish through public feeds and put them on one board, so you can see where the number sits before you decide which app to fund.