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Illinois picked an interesting time to go live with sports betting – March 2020, just before almost every major sport in the US was put on hold for a few months.
Since live sports has returned and betting has returned to normal, Illinois’ shiny new sportsbooks are competing to entice gamblers back in the door. And a big way they are going about it is with sports betting bonuses.
Boosted parlays with enhanced odds
Impressive range of bets
$10 free bet every week
$1,000 First Bet Offer
21+ | Terms and conditions apply
Free play options
Special contests for newbies
No Sweat First Bet $2,500
21+ | Terms and conditions apply
No bet-throughs required
Lots of sport-specific promos
Promo Code 'WSNFULL'
Up To $1,250 On Caesars
21+ | Terms and conditions apply
Great payment and customer support
Access to fantasy sports with one account
Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets Instantly!
21+ | T&Cs apply
Unique PointsBetting system
Unbeatable rewards
Get 5 x $50 Bet Credits
21+ | T&Cs apply
Wide range of betting options
Top notch customer service
Promo Code 'SPORTS'
$500 Free Bet
21+ | VA only | Gambling problem? Call 1-800-532-3500
Sports betting bonuses are promotional tools used by sportsbooks in Illinois to attract new players. Their goal is to put together an offer so juicy that new players can’t help but sign up. Once they’re in, the sportsbooks hope, players will end up betting regularly even after they’ve used up their bonus.
Illinois currently has three live online sportsbooks, with more projected to open in 2021.
This page contains everything you need to know about betting bonuses in Illinois. We cover all the bases, including what kind of bonuses you can expect to find, how to claim them, and what terms and conditions to look out for.
We’ve also got a full guide to betting bonuses in general, which you can check out for more detailed information.
As long as you can legally join a sportsbook and place a bet in Illinois, you automatically qualify for a betting bonus. This means you just need to be at least 21 years old and physically located within state lines to claim a bonus.
Generally, Illinois sportsbooks will require users to fully verify their identity before they can bet using their bonuses. This typically means sending the sportsbook a copy of some personal documentation like a driver’s license, or maybe just some digits from your SSN.
This kind of information is always treated very sensitively by Illinois sportsbooks and is only used to verify a user’s identity.
There are different ways to claim bonuses. One of the most common is through a bonus code, which is a special password you can type in during the registration process which unlocks your bonus. Sometimes you can type in your bonus code after you’ve signed up, in the cashier section of the sportsbook.
Some sportsbooks don’t require any code, and just automatically credit your account with the bonus when you register.
If you’re an NFL fan, make sure you check out our best Chicago Bears sports betting promo codes!
You can head over to our full Illinois betting guide for more information about claiming bonuses. If you want to bet on the Bulls or any other of your favorite NBA teams then you’ll need to check out which sportsbooks are offering the best NBA Bonus Codes and Promos!
Below you can see a list of the most common types of bonuses up for grabs in Illinois. You can check out our complete guide to betting bonuses to get the full story on all of these and more.
Every single betting bonus will come with some terms and conditions attached, and these are how you can truly tell how valuable a bonus is. These conditions are generally concerned with how you can change your bonus cash or free bets into normal cash that you can withdraw.
You can read more about the topic in our full guide, but below are some of the main conditions to look out for:
That’s a good question and a hard one to answer – chiefly because no two players are exactly alike. It’s true that you may find some bonuses that are objectively more valuable than others, but generally, some bonuses will appeal to one type of player and others to another.
For example, free bets on MLB won’t interest you much if you never watch baseball.
In this section, we’ve chosen a bonus from each of three online sportsbooks currently live in Illinois, to give you a sense of what’s on offer. For more information as well as full sportsbook reviews, you can head over to our guide to betting in Illinois.
To read about the best sportsbook apps in Illinois, head over to our best sports betting apps guide.
Like we said, each bonus tends to suit a different type of player. In the case of DraftKings, the welcome bonus is likely to appeal to players who are prepared to make a fairly sizable deposit upfront and bet at quite a high volume.
DraftKings bonus is worth up to $1,000, which is way too good of a bonus to pass. You should also check out DraftKings Bet $5, Get $200 promotion for more free bets.
Great payment and customer support
Access to fantasy sports with one account
Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets Instantly!
21+ | T&Cs apply
Bet $5 and get $200 at FanDuel. Place your first $5 bet and win or lose get $200 in Free Bets.
Free play options
Special contests for newbies
No Sweat First Bet $2,500
21+ | Terms and conditions apply
BetRivers have an excellent 100% deposit bonus for new members, worth up to an impressive $250. Even better, the bonus money has a straightforward 1x playthrough requirement.
This is an excellent bonus. You can claim as much or as little you want up to $250, depending on your bankroll and how much you want to deposit. The upper limit is pretty good, and the relaxed turnover requirements mean the bonus cash is seriously valuable.
This is a great option for a welcome bonus in Illinois.
Wide range of betting options
Top notch customer service
Promo Code 'SPORTS'
$500 Free Bet
21+ | VA only | Gambling problem? Call 1-800-532-3500
Legal sports betting arrived in Illinois in June 2019, one year after the Supreme Court cleared the way for states to decide their own sports betting laws by removing the federal ban. It took another 6 months for all the red tape to be squared off and the first bet was booked in the state in March 2020 – just in time for coronavirus lockdown!
It wasn’t the start sportsbooks were hoping for in Illinois, but the state has made steady progress in spite of the health situation. By the end of the summer, three online sportsbooks were accepting players from Illinois and several more were already lined up for 2021. It may have had something of a false start, but the sports betting future in Illinois looks exciting with a full calendar of sports in 2022.
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After graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a BA in Journalism, Richard Janvrin has been covering iGaming and sports betting since December 2018. Richard has covered betting at Bleacher Report, Gambling.com, The Game Day, Forbes, and more.
More info on Richard Janvrin
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