Illinois sports betting in 2026: what Bears fans can use

Is sports betting legal in Illinois? Yes. Adults 21 and over can use licensed sportsbook apps anywhere in the state, and retail sportsbooks at casinos and racetracks, under a 2019 law. What has changed lately is the cost: Illinois now taxes online books on every wager they take, and some books hand part of that to customers. Prediction markets operate alongside the books under federal oversight, and the state is in court trying to change that. Here is where things stand for Bears fans as of Nov. 6.

The law and the regulator

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Sports Wagering Act (230 ILCS 45) in 2019 as part of a broader gaming expansion. Retail books opened in 2020, mobile apps followed later that year, and since 2022 a customer can sign up for an app without visiting a casino. The Illinois Gaming Board licenses the operators and enforces the rules.

The Gaming Board's list of authorized operators includes ten online brands: every sportsbook on our board (DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers, Hard Rock Bet, theScore Bet and Fanatics), plus Caesars Sportsbook and Circa Sports. The sportsbook rows on the board are therefore prices a fan standing in Illinois can take.

The law bars wagers on Illinois college teams. That rule matters to Illini and Northwestern fans; it does not touch the Bears or any other NFL game.

The per-wager tax

Illinois already taxed sportsbooks on a graduated scale that rises to 40% of revenue. Since July 1, 2025, it has also charged online books a flat amount on every wager: 25 cents on each of a book's first 20 million wagers in a fiscal year, and 50 cents on each one after that.

Some books pass it on. FanDuel began charging customers 50 cents a wager in September 2025, paused the charge in April 2026 and restored it in October, Covers reported. It now applies to parlays under $10 and straight wagers under $25; larger ones, and wagers made with bonus credit, are exempt. Other books have their own policies, so check the fine print before you sign up.

Rep. Daniel Didech, who chairs the House gaming committee, filed House Bill 5143 in February to repeal the per-wager tax while leaving the revenue tax in place, SBC Americas reported. It has not become law.

Prediction markets: open, and in court

The Gaming Board's position is that prediction markets offering sports contracts are unlicensed sports wagering. It sent cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com in April 2025 and to Polymarket in January 2026. Then lawmakers went further: SB 3019, the budget and revenue bill Pritzker signed in June, required prediction-market platforms to get a state license and set new charges on them from July 1, The Block reported. Kalshi sued in federal court in Chicago that month. The CFTC had already sued the state in April over the Gaming Board's letters, and Coinbase has a case of its own.

In early October U.S. District Judge Martha Pacold sided with the exchanges, finding that their sports contracts are likely swaps under federal law and that much of the state's regime is likely preempted, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. She blocked rules on what can be sold, where and to whom, but held off on the state's plan to take a cut of the platforms' fees, writing that it "might not pose the same conflict." Illinois has appealed to the Seventh Circuit, TheLines reported on Nov. 4.

For now that leaves the exchanges open in Illinois. Novig, a CFTC-regulated exchange where you take a position on a game at a price set by other traders, is available in the state; it has received no letter from the Gaming Board. Novig is live in 47 states, every one except Arizona, Michigan and Nevada. That is worth knowing on Thanksgiving, when the Bears play in Detroit: Novig will not work in Michigan. Kalshi also trades in Illinois under the court's order. If the Seventh Circuit rules for the state, this page will change.

What a Bears fan can use this week

Every Bears game is priced on the board, Novig first, alongside the sportsbooks and the other exchanges. The Illinois page prices this week's game at the venues a fan in the state can open and carries the date we last checked the law. Prediction markets vs sportsbooks explains how the two kinds of venue arrive at a price, and how to read the Bears board works through the numbers.

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