Illinois Representative Edgar Gonzalez has made a fresh attempt to legalize online casino gaming, after a previous initiative fell short in 2025. The newly introduced House Bill 4797 aims to implement the Internet Gaming Act, which would empower the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) to license up to three branded online casino platforms, or “skins.”
The legislation allows licensed operators to offer online slots, table games, live dealer options, and poker to residents over the age of 21. These operators would incur a 25% tax on gross gaming revenue. The bill specifies a licensing fee of $250,000, with subsequent yearly renewals set at $100,000.
Included are measures for responsible gambling, featuring limits on deposits and wagers, as well as options for both temporary and permanent self-exclusion. To mitigate industry backlash and workforce concerns, the legislation contains clauses aimed at preventing layoffs among potential licensees.
The bill’s text states, “The Board is prohibited from issuing an Internet gaming license to any owner’s or organization’s licensee that has reduced its workforce by 25% or more since February 28, 2020. It also ensures that the Board cannot renew the Internet gaming license for any owner or organization that has made a similar workforce reduction since their last license was granted or renewed.”
Currently, Illinois operates a fully regulated and heavily taxed online sports betting market. Nonetheless, previous efforts to expand into online casino gaming have met with resistance from local casino operators. PENN Entertainment, which manages three casinos in Illinois, opposed a similar proposal last year. That measure, alongside its Senate counterpart, did not advance beyond committee.
The new proposal also disallows local governments from imposing extra taxes on online casino revenue. “This privilege tax is the only tax applicable to Internet gaming,” the bill asserts. “No local government in this State, including home rule municipalities, is permitted to levy taxes on adjusted gross gaming revenue.”
Under the proposed framework, 95% of tax revenue would be directed to the state’s general fund, with the remaining 5% funneled to local jurisdictions.
The subject of gaming taxes continues to be a polarizing issue in Illinois. Recently, the state shifted from a flat 15% tax on online sports betting to a graduated scale culminating at 40%, alongside introducing per-wager fees for sportsbooks.
Additionally, the City of Chicago has suggested a 10.25% tax on bets made within city limits. This proposal led five leading sportsbooks—FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Fanatics, and bet365—to file a lawsuit contesting the city’s authority to implement such a tax.
House Bill 4797 also gives the IGB the authority to negotiate inter-state agreements to facilitate multi-jurisdictional online gaming, including online poker, as long as these arrangements conform to federal and state regulations. In a related initiative this week, Gonzalez introduced another bill specifically targeting the legalization of online poker.
While a vote on the legalization of online casino gaming is not imminent, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has expressed his support for the concept at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) Summer Meeting held last July, indicating he anticipates the eventual legalization of iGaming in Illinois.