The casino boats had to enter the water every two hours during their first decade of operation. This Act gave the green light to commercial casinos as long as they were on the water. Such casinos were approved in 1990 after the passing of the Riverboat Gambling Act, and Illinois issued 10 riverboat gambling licenses. Illinois was also one of the first states associated with riverboat gambling. The following year, the board passed the Horse Racing Act, bringing more regulation to the industry.

The Prairie State was the pioneer in offering a state-run lottery, introduced in 1974. Illinois gambling history dates back to 1920, when the state first legalized horse betting. Legal forms of gambling in the state include horse racing, commercial or riverboat casinos, social and sweepstakes casinos, state lottery, online sports betting, and daily fantasy sports. Online gambling is not legal in Illinois, including live dealer games. Another option includes offshore casinos, as they are yet to be regulated by IL law. Until then, they can try their luck in sweepstakes online casinos. That is why players need to wait for a more favorable legal climate before they can play in live casinos online in Illinois. Contrary to that, real-money online gambling is still illegal.

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