The sponsor of an Illinois House online casino bill last year is trying again this year.
Rep. Edgar González Jr introduced HB 4797 this week that would see the online casino industry tethered to only some of the state’s 17 land-based casinos. Casinos that eliminated more than 25% of its workforce since February 2020 would not be eligible.
Last year’s effort failed to make it out of the House Gaming Committee and was re-referred to the Rules Committee. This year’s bill has not yet been assigned to a committee. A Senate companion, SB 3723, was introduced Thursday before Friday‘s deadline for new legislation.
González and his office did not respond to LSR‘s multiple requests for comment.
Emergency clause included
Just like last year, Gonzalez has included an emergency clause in his online casino bill.
It is not clear what the emergency is and why the hastened timeline is necessary. The bill would be effective upon passage and requires emergency rules to be adopted 90 days later.
Temporary licenses would be issued within 30 days of applying.
BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt noted on the company’s 2025 year-end earnings call that it takes about nine months to set up regulation for a new industry such as online casino. Greenblatt also only noted Virginia as a state that shows promise so far to legalize iGaming this year.
Online casino bill details
González set a 25% tax rate for iGaming and charge a $250,000 prorated fee for the license that is tied to the land-based operator’s license timeline. Renewal would cost $100,000, but any casino that has cut 25% of its workforce since receiving its online casino license is not allowed to renew its license.
Suppliers would pay a $75,000 application fee while internet management service providers would pay $50,000.
Credit card deposits, which is being excluded from gaming bills at a higher rate recently, would be allowed under this legislation.
Past efforts in Illinois
Illinois’ history with expanding gambling includes early legalization of riverboat casinos in the 1990s, followed by sports wagering in 2020. Although online sports betting has become a major regulated market, real money online casino gaming has remained illegal, despite repeated legislative attempts since 2023 to bring iGaming into the legal arena.
Lawmakers have repeatedly proposed frameworks allowing casino operators multiple branded online skins with high tax rates and substantial regulatory guardrails, but strong resistance from established gaming interests, particularly video gaming terminal operators and some land based casinos, has kept past bills from progressing to final votes.
In summer 2025, however, Illinois Atty. Gen. Kwame Raoul said online casino gaming was likely to be legalized eventually at a National Council of Legislators from Gaming States conference.
