CHICAGO · GREATER CHICAGOLAND CASINO GUIDE
Two of them opened in the last twelve months
For most of its history Chicago was the largest American city without a casino inside its own limits. That ended in 2023, and the market has not stopped moving since — Wind Creek opened a $529 million casino in the south suburbs in November 2024, Hollywood Joliet opened an all-new land-based property in August 2025, Hollywood Aurora opened a $360 million resort in June 2026, and Bally's is building a $1.7 billion permanent casino on the old Chicago Tribune site. Eleven casinos now sit within about an hour of the Loop, spread across Illinois and Indiana. Here's all of them, current as of this month.
Part of the Vantage Corridor Casino Network
Four Properties Changed the Market Since Late 2024
Penn Entertainment replaced its Fox River riverboat with a $360 million land-based resort across from Chicago Premium Outlets, just off I-88. More than 1,200 gaming positions, a hotel, a full-service spa, a retail sportsbook, an outdoor entertainment area, a 12,000-square-foot event center, and roughly 1,700 parking spaces. It is the newest casino in the Chicago market by a wide margin.
An all-new $185 million land-based casino replacing the riverboat that had operated in Joliet since 1992. Roughly 1,000 slots and 43 live table games, new restaurants and bars, an event center, and — for the first time in Joliet — easy surface parking instead of a boat.
A $529 million casino at I-80 and Halsted Street in East Hazel Crest, with parking structures extending into neighboring Homewood. About 1,400 slot machines, 56 table games, and three restaurants. It is the first casino to serve Chicago's south suburbs directly, roughly thirty minutes down I-57 or I-94 from the Loop, and it is operated by Wind Creek Hospitality.
The $1.7 billion permanent casino at 560 W. Grand Ave in River West, on the 30-acre former Chicago Tribune Freedom Center site. Topped off May 1, 2026. When it opens it will carry 3,400 slot machines, 173 table games, and a 500-room hotel with a rooftop bar. Until then, Bally's operates the temporary casino at Medinah Temple in River North.
What this means for players. Chicagoland went from a market where the good floors were all thirty-plus miles northwest to one with new resorts in the western suburbs, a new floor in the south suburbs, and a downtown flagship on the way. If you last played this market before late 2024, three of the eleven casinos on this page did not exist in their current form.
Temporary at Medinah Temple · Permanent Resort Opens Spring 2027
Chicago spent decades as the largest US city without a casino inside its limits — a quirk of Illinois law that sent the city's gaming dollars to the suburbs and across the Indiana line. Bally's changed that in September 2023 with a temporary casino inside Medinah Temple, the landmark former Shrine auditorium in River North. It is still the only casino you can reach from a downtown hotel without leaving the city.
The permanent property is a different scale entirely. Bally's is building a $1.7 billion riverfront resort at 560 W. Grand Ave, on the 30-acre site of the old Chicago Tribune Freedom Center, reconnecting River West and the Near West Side to the Chicago River. The final structural beam went up May 1, 2026, and the target is spring 2027.
★ The historic first. Bally's Chicago is the only casino ever licensed inside Chicago city limits. Whatever the permanent resort turns out to be, the temporary floor at Medinah Temple is where that started.
Three Caesars properties serve the Chicago market — two in Illinois, one across the Indiana line.
Elgin, IL · ~40 miles west on the Fox River · one of the longest-established floors in the metro, with a hotel on property
Joliet, IL · ~30 miles southwest of the Loop · full-service casino hotel on the Route 66 corridor
Hammond, IN · ~20 minutes from the Loop · one of the largest gaming floors in the Midwest, with a dedicated poker room
Caesars Rewards tier credits earned at either property carry across the whole Caesars network — Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New Orleans, Biloxi, and the rest. If Chicago is not the only trip you take this year, that status is worth more than the local comps.
BestInChicago.Casino earns a commission if you book through this link, at no additional cost to you. We are not affiliated with Caesars Entertainment.
Eight in Illinois · Three Across the Indiana Line
Regulated by the Illinois Gaming Board
Chicago, IL · Bally's Corporation · in the city
The only casino inside Chicago city limits. Temporary facility at Medinah Temple in River North; $1.7B permanent resort at 560 W. Grand Ave targeting spring 2027.
Des Plaines, IL · Rush Street Gaming · ~17 miles NW
Illinois' highest-grossing casino. Roughly 1,100 slots and 50+ table games, multiple restaurants, regular entertainment. Twenty minutes from downtown and close to O'Hare.
Aurora, IL · Penn Entertainment · ~40 miles W
Opened June 24, 2026. All-new $360M resort off I-88 across from Chicago Premium Outlets — 1,200+ gaming positions, hotel, spa, retail sportsbook, 12,000 sq ft event center.
Joliet, IL · Penn Entertainment · ~30 miles SW
Opened August 11, 2025. All-new $185M land-based property replacing the 1992 riverboat. About 1,000 slots and 43 table games.
Joliet, IL · Caesars Entertainment · ~30 miles SW
Full-service casino hotel on the Route 66 corridor. The Caesars Rewards property on the Illinois side of this market.
Elgin, IL · Caesars Entertainment · ~40 miles W
On the Fox River in downtown Elgin, one of the longest-established casinos in the metro. Full gaming floor, hotel on property, and Caesars Rewards. Eldorado bought it from MGM and Hyatt in 2018 and it came to Caesars in the merger.
East Hazel Crest, IL · Wind Creek Hospitality · ~30 min S
Opened November 11, 2024. A $529M property at I-80 and Halsted with roughly 1,400 slots, 56 table games, and three restaurants, with parking extending into neighboring Homewood. The first casino to serve Chicago's south suburbs directly.
Waukegan, IL · Full House Resorts · ~40 miles N
Operating as The Temporary by American Place since February 2023, near the North Shore about thirty minutes north of O'Hare. Full House broke ground on the permanent casino at 4011 Fountain Square Place on June 3, 2026 — roughly twice the size, targeting 2027. The temporary floor stays open during construction.
Regulated by the Indiana Gaming Commission — 20 to 30 minutes from the Loop
Hammond, IN · Caesars Entertainment · ~20 min
The closest Indiana casino to Chicago, on the Lake Michigan shoreline just over the state line. One of the largest floors in the Midwest, with a dedicated poker room running cash games and tournaments. Caesars Rewards.
East Chicago, IN · Boyd Gaming · ~25 min
Full-service casino hotel on Lake Michigan. Slots, tables, hotel, and dining. Boyd's B Connected rewards.
Gary, IN · Hard Rock International · ~30 min
The newest of the three Indiana properties. Full gaming floor with the Hard Rock entertainment program, dining, and live music.
Illinois properties are licensed by the Illinois Gaming Board; Indiana properties by the Indiana Gaming Commission. Neither state permits online casino gaming. Drive times are approximate and off-peak — Chicago traffic will add to every one of them.
Four Kinds of Trip
Bally's Chicago at Medinah Temple is the only option that doesn't require a highway or a state line. Short rideshare from most Loop and River North hotels.
Hollywood Casino Aurora. It opened six weeks ago — new hotel, new spa, new sportsbook, and forty miles of I-88 between you and the crowds. Hollywood Joliet is the close second, open since August 2025.
Rivers Casino Des Plaines is Illinois' top-grossing casino and the benchmark for the market — twenty minutes northwest, easy to pair with an O'Hare flight day.
Wind Creek Chicago Southland at I-80 and Halsted opened in November 2024 and is the first casino built to serve that side of the metro. Thirty minutes from the Loop, and closer than anything else if you're south of the city.
Horseshoe Hammond, twenty minutes across the Indiana line, has the dedicated poker room and Midwest-scale floor. On the Illinois side, Harrah's Joliet and Grand Victoria Elgin both carry Caesars Rewards.
Illinois Since 2019 · Indiana Since 2019
✅ LEGAL IN BOTH STATES
Illinois legalized sports betting in 2019 and launched mobile and retail books in 2020. Indiana legalized in 2019 and launched the same year. You can bet from a phone anywhere inside either state, or at a retail book at any of the eleven casinos on this page.
⚠️ SPORTS BETTING IS NOT ONLINE CASINO
Neither Illinois nor Indiana permits online casino gaming. You can legally bet on sports from your phone in both states. You cannot legally play online slots, blackjack, roulette, or live-dealer games in either one. These are separate authorizations with separate legal status.
📍 YOUR APP FOLLOWS THE STATE LINE
Illinois and Indiana are separate licensing jurisdictions. An Illinois account stops working when you cross into Hammond, and an Indiana account stops working coming back. If you bet on your phone, check which state you're standing in before you place it.
Live in Illinois and Indiana
Live in Illinois and Indiana
Live in Illinois and Indiana
Live in Illinois and Indiana — Caesars Rewards credit on bets
Fanatics, bet365, theScore Bet and other operators are also licensed in one or both states. You must be 21 or older and physically inside state lines to place a legal mobile bet.
Vantage Corridor Casino Network
Indiana's complete gaming guide, beyond the border three
→ bestinindiana.casinoThe full Midwest corridor: Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana
→ midwest.casinoSeven casinos across two states in the St. Louis metro
→ saintlouis.casinoPotawatomi, Ho-Chunk, Oneida and the rest of Wisconsin
→ bestinwisconsin.casinoHigh-limit rooms and VIP programs across America
→ highrollerdirectory.casinoThe national casino directory
→ bestinusa.casinoThis guide covers two states, so both helplines belong here. Illinois and Indiana each run their own free, confidential, 24-hour programs, and both offer statewide voluntary self-exclusion that applies to every licensed casino.
Illinois Gaming Board — igb.illinois.gov
Indiana Gaming Commission — in.gov/igc
Voluntary self-exclusion is available statewide in both Illinois and Indiana
You must be 21 or older to gamble at Illinois and Indiana casinos and to place sports bets in either state. BestInChicago.Casino is an independent guide and is not affiliated with any casino property, the Illinois Gaming Board, or the Indiana Gaming Commission. Openings, hours, and offerings change — verify with the property before you go.