Illinois Casino Revenue Reaches a Record $1.9 Billion in 2025
Posted on: January 12, 2026, 09:38h.
Last updated on: January 12, 2026, 10:30h.
- Illinois casino revenue reached $1.9 billion in 2025
- 2025 was a record year for Illinois casinos
- Concerns about VGTs in Chicago overshadow Bally’s $1.7 billion investment
Gamblers in Illinois lost more money than ever before in 2025 at the state’s 17 physical casinos.
The Illinois Gaming Board reports that 2025 gross gaming revenue (GGR), or the amount of money the casinos kept after paying out winnings, totaled $1,943,722,561.89. The bulk of the winnings, about $1.49 billion, came on slot machines. Table games accounted for the remaining $457.8 million.
The more than $1.9 billion in casino revenue represented a 15% increase from 2024, when GGR totaled approximately $1.7 billion. The 2025 mark represents a 29% jump from 2023 win of $1.5 billion, and a nearly 44% surge from 2019 prepandemic revenue of $1.35 billion.
Rivers Casino Des Plaines remained the top casino in Illinois. The casino jointly owned by Churchill Downs and Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming reported GGR of $503 million for a 26% state market share.
Wind Creek Chicago Southland, which opened in November 2024, was next at $198 million.
State, Chicago Gaming Expansion
2025 marked the first full year for Wind Creek Chicago Southland, a $529 million facility that was authorized through Illinois’ 2019 gaming expansion package. The bill, part of Gov. JB Pritzker’s (D) “Rebuild Illinois” initiative, authorized five casinos in the Chicago suburbs and an integrated resort casino destination in downtown Chicago.
Last year was also the first full year for Hard Rock Casino Rockford. Hard Rock generated 2025 GGR of $146.2 million to place third.
Caesars’ Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin was fourth at $142.2 million, and the Bally’s Chicago temporary casino at the Medinah Temple, also authorized through the 2019 gaming bill, was fifth with GGR of $124.7 million.
Bally’s continues to make headway on its $1.7 billion permanent casino in Chicago’s River West neighborhood. Bally’s officials have an ambitious plan to open the resort by the end of the year.
The casino company continues to oppose efforts to allow slot-like video gaming terminals (VGTs) to come to the city proper. Chicago aldermen are pursuing VGTs as a much-needed revenue source, though Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) called the $16.6 billion budget passed by the City Council “morally bankrupt” because of relying on VGT gaming, among other things.
Through November, the most recently reported month, statewide VGT revenue in 2025 totaled more than $2.91 billion. In Aurora, one of the largest municipalities in the Chicago region with a population of about 200K people, 2025 VGT revenue in the city totaled more than $14.6 million.
Sports Concerns
While Illinois casino revenue continues to grow, there are concerns regarding the future of the state’s sports betting industry. As Casino.org’s Todd Shriber reported in November, the state’s recently implemented per-bet surcharge has led to fewer overall sports bets.
Illinois now imposes a 25-cent per-bet charge on a sportsbook’s first 20 million bets. The surcharge jumps to 50 cents after the operator exceeds 20 million bets in a year.
The Sports Betting Alliance, a coalition fighting for the expansion of sports gambling and favorable regulations, claims the per-bet charge led to five million fewer bets made in September 2025 than were placed in September 2024.
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