Sweepstakes casinos in Illinois

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, and our tracked event history for Illinois does not yet hold any of them.

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

1. 720 ILCS 5/28-1, Gambling (Illinois General Assembly) accessed Sep 28, 2026
2. Illinois Gaming Board, Cease and Desist Letters (casino gambling) accessed Sep 28, 2026
3. Illinois Gaming Board letter to Crown Coins Casino, February 4, 2026 accessed Sep 28, 2026
4. 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.