STATE TRACKER · IL

Sweepstakes casinos in Illinois

Current status

Enforcement activity

Regulators have taken tracked enforcement action against operators here.

Last review: June 13, 2026
Authority: 720 ILCS 5/28-1

Regulators are acting against operators here, and terms, availability and redemption windows can change with little notice. Keep your own record of what you deposited and what you redeemed. Tell us what happened to you

Sweeps Coins (SC) redemption: Contested, regulators are acting
Gold Coin (GC) free play: Generally not targeted. 76 of 122 operators we track are recorded as not accepting Illinois
Minimum age: 18+
Age floor source: 755 ILCS 5/11-1 (Minor: age of legal age)
Latest action: Feb 4, 2026: cease and desist

PRIMARY-SOURCE NOTE

The Illinois letters cite the internet clause and never mention the no-purchase exception

What the law does

Section 28-1 of the Illinois Criminal Code is a list of acts that count as gambling, and item 12 of subsection (a) is the one written for the internet: knowingly setting up, maintaining or running a site through which a person can play a game of chance or skill with money or any other thing of value at stake¹. The list also reaches the player, because item 1 covers anyone who knowingly plays such a game, unless subsection (b) carves the activity out¹. That carve-out list has its own item 13, which says participants in games where money or prizes can be won, but taking part requires no payment or purchase, shall not be convicted of gambling¹. Under subsection (c), gambling is a Class A misdemeanor, and a second or later conviction under items 3 through 12 is a Class 4 felony¹.

What has happened since

The Gaming Board's letters page says the Board, working with the Illinois Attorney General's office, has written to more than 60 entities it believes run online casino or sweepstakes platforms without a license². Every letter title on that page carries the date February 4, 2026². The copy sent to Crown Coins Casino cites item 12, reports that on January 9, 2026 the Board saw the site offering Illinois users slots and bingo that could win cash, gift cards and other prizes, and demands that it block Illinois residents or stop offering those prizes³. No letter has reached our tracked event history for Illinois, which is empty, and our exit records list no brand leaving the state. Our operator records put 76 brands on file as not taking Illinois players. In the Senate, SB 1705 was filed on February 5, 2025, and its last recorded action, on April 11, 2025, sent it back to the Assignments committee⁴.

What is still open

Every listed letter cites item 12, and none mentions the no-purchase exception in item 13²³. Each does say that "no exceptions are permitted under the Illinois Prizes and Gifts Act"³. That leaves no agency or court answer on whether a free Sweeps Coin route puts a dual-currency site inside item 13¹. SB 1705, as introduced, would withhold that exception for play on its wider class of gambling devices, but it has not moved since 2025⁴. Crown Coins, Pulsz, PlayFame, SpinBlitz, Mega Bonanza and Jackpot Rabbit are all on that list, and none of their terms named Illinois as excluded when we read them in June 2026, four months after the letters². Whether they now block Illinois at registration, as the letters demand, their terms alone do not show.

Enforcement search: The Illinois Gaming Board publishes cease-and-desist letters, each titled with the date February 4, 2026, that cite the internet clause of section 28-1 and demand that the recipient block Illinois residents or stop offering prizes²³. They are agency demands; our tracked event history for Illinois holds the letter to Crown Coins Casino, recorded as a cease-and-desist demand.
Question still open: Whether a free Sweeps Coin route puts a dual-currency site inside the no-purchase exception of section 28-1, which the Board's letters skip while ruling out Prizes and Gifts Act exceptions¹³, and whether recipients whose terms did not name Illinois now block it.

Sources for this note

720 ILCS 5/28-1, Gambling (Illinois General Assembly) accessed Sep 28, 2026
Illinois Gaming Board, Cease and Desist Letters (casino gambling) accessed Sep 28, 2026
Illinois Gaming Board letter to Crown Coins Casino, February 4, 2026 accessed Sep 28, 2026
SB 1705 (104th General Assembly) bill status and synopsis (Illinois General Assembly) accessed Sep 28, 2026

Sources rechecked 2026-09-28. Next scheduled review 2026-12-28.

What the law says

Under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(c), gambling is a Class A misdemeanor; a second or subsequent conviction under (a)(3)-(a)(12): which includes operating an Internet gambling site under (a)(12): is a Class 4 felony. The IGB/AG C&D letters are demands, not court orders; no reported prosecutions of sweeps operators yet.

How we got here

Every tracked event for Illinois, newest first.

Feb 4, 2026

Enforcement cease and desist

The Illinois Gaming Board wrote that it observed on January 9, 2026 that Crown Coins Casino offered Illinois users slots and bingo with cash, gift card and other prizes, which it calls an illegal online casino under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12), and demanded that Crown Coins block Illinois residents or stop offering cash, gift cards and other prizes. Signed by Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter; sent to info@sunflowerltd.com and support@crowncoinscasino.com.

Source document Named in Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to Crown Coins Casino: Crown Coins
Feb 4, 2026

Enforcement cease and desist

The Illinois Gaming Board wrote that it observed on January 12, 2026 that RealPrize offered Illinois users slots with cash, gift cards and other prizes, which it calls an illegal online casino under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12), and demanded that RealPrize block Illinois residents or stop offering cash, gift cards and other prizes through its service. Signed by Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter.

Source document Named in Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to RealPrize: RealPrize
Feb 4, 2026

Enforcement cease and desist

The Illinois Gaming Board wrote that it observed on January 12, 2026 that LoneStar Casino offered Illinois users slots and table games with cash, gift cards and other prizes, which it calls an illegal online casino under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12), and demanded that LoneStar Casino block Illinois residents or stop offering cash, gift cards and other prizes through its service. Signed by Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter.

Source document Named in Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to LoneStar Casino: LonestarCasino
Feb 4, 2026

Enforcement cease and desist

The Illinois Gaming Board wrote that it observed on January 9, 2026 that Pulsz offered Illinois users slots and table games with cash, gift cards and other prizes, which it calls an illegal online casino under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12), and demanded that Pulsz block Illinois residents or stop offering cash, gift cards and other prizes through its service. Signed by Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter.

Source document Named in Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to Pulsz: Pulsz
Feb 4, 2026

Enforcement cease and desist

The Illinois Gaming Board wrote that it observed on January 9, 2026 that McLuck Casino offered Illinois users slots and table games with cash, gift cards and other prizes, which it calls an illegal online casino under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12), and demanded that McLuck Casino block Illinois residents or stop offering cash, gift cards and other prizes through its service. Signed by Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter.

Source document Named in Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to McLuck Casino: McLuck
Feb 4, 2026

Enforcement cease and desist

The Illinois Gaming Board wrote that it observed on January 14, 2026 that PlayFame offered Illinois users slots and table games with crypto currency, which it calls an illegal online casino under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12), and demanded that PlayFame block Illinois residents or stop offering crypto currency through its service. Signed by Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter.

Source document Named in Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to PlayFame: PlayFame
Feb 4, 2026

Enforcement cease and desist

The Illinois Gaming Board wrote that it observed on January 14, 2026 that Mega Bonanza offered Illinois users slots with cash, gift cards and other prizes, which it calls an illegal online casino under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12), and demanded that Mega Bonanza block Illinois residents or stop offering cash, gift cards and other prizes through its service. Signed by Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter.

Source document Named in Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to Mega Bonanza: MegaBonanza
Feb 4, 2026

Enforcement cease and desist

The Illinois Gaming Board wrote that it observed on January 14, 2026 that Dara Casino offered Illinois users slots and table games with cash, which it calls an illegal online casino under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12), and demanded that Dara Casino block Illinois residents or stop offering cash through its service. Signed by Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter.

Source document Named in Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to Dara Casino: Dara
Feb 4, 2026

Enforcement cease and desist

The Illinois Gaming Board wrote that it observed on January 14, 2026 that Spree Casino offered Illinois users slots and table games with cash, gift cards and other prizes, which it calls an illegal online casino under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12), and demanded that Spree Casino block Illinois residents or stop offering cash, gift cards and other prizes through its service. Signed by Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter.

Source document Named in Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to Spree Casino: Spree
Feb 4, 2026

Enforcement cease and desist

The Illinois Gaming Board wrote that it observed on January 14, 2026 that Rolla offered Illinois users slots with cash, gift cards and other prizes, which it calls an illegal online casino under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(12), and demanded that Rolla block Illinois residents or stop offering cash, gift cards and other prizes through its service. Signed by Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter.

Source document Named in Illinois Gaming Board cease-and-desist letter to Rolla: Rolla

Operators and Illinois

Because of Illinois's status, we don't list or link operator promotions for this state.

76 of the 122 operators we track are recorded as not accepting Illinois players, and 15 of those records cite the operator's own terms.

46 operators we track do not list Illinois among excluded states in the terms we last read, dated June 10, 2026 to October 2, 2026.

Operator families whose every tracked brand is recorded as not accepting Illinois: Blazesoft, MW Services Limited and Realplay Tech Inc.

How this classification was reached

Show the record, the citation and the method

What the Illinois classification rests on

Source date: February 4, 2026 (cease and desist)
Last human review: June 13, 2026
Effective date: Not recorded
Basis of classification: enforcement-based

How to read these rows

Where the operator counts come from

Of the 46 records that do not exclude Illinois, 35 cite the operator's own terms or rules, 1 comes from a backfill of the operator's terms and 10 are inferred because the terms do not list Illinois. Of the 76 exclusion records, 6 cite the operator's own terms or rules, 9 come from a backfill of the operator's terms, 1 comes from the operator's site configuration, 59 come from our bulk backfill without a terms citation and 1 rests on other records.

Citation as stored

720 ILCS 5/28-1 (gambling; incl. (a)(12) internet gambling) and 720 ILCS 5/28-2(b) (lottery definition); SB 1705 (pending, not passed).

Illinois questions

Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Illinois?

Regulators have taken tracked enforcement action against operators here. Authority: 720 ILCS 5/28-1.

Do the Illinois Gaming Board letters mention affiliates of a sweepstakes site?

Yes. The letter to Crown Coins Casino warns that failing to block Illinois residents or to stop offering cash, gift cards and other prizes may subject the recipient, its affiliates and business partners to civil or criminal penalties. Section 28-1 itself never uses the word affiliate, and our state record does not mark Illinois as a state with affiliate liability.

Which operators accept Illinois players?

76 of the 122 operators we track are recorded as not accepting Illinois players, and 15 of those records cite the operator's own terms. Trust Score leaderboard →

This page is information, not legal advice. Laws and thresholds change quickly, so confirm with the operator and your state attorney general before depositing, or consult a lawyer. Last verified June 13, 2026. Send a correction.