KEY TAKEAWAYS
CONTENTS
Key Numbers: Illinois Gambling in 2025
The three forms of gambling overseen by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) — casinos, video gaming terminals (VGTs) and sports wagering — generated $6,606,169,576 in gaming revenue in calendar year 2025, according to figures in the IGB’s 2025 Annual Report. That is 11.5% more than the $5.93 billion produced in 2024.
Video gaming is the largest piece. Terminals in licensed video gaming establishments produced $3.19 billion in net terminal income, close to half of the total. The IGB reports that the three verticals paid $2,201,626,107 in taxes in 2025: $1,905,074,340 to the state and $296,551,767 to local governments.
This article compiles Illinois’ 2025 gambling data from the IGB — revenue by vertical, taxes by recipient and the size of each industry — and adds the lottery and horse racing figures reported separately by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA). Data as of November 2026.
Who Regulates What, and How Revenue Is Measured
Gambling in Illinois is split between agencies. The IGB regulates casinos, video gaming and sports wagering; the Illinois Lottery and horse racing are overseen separately. Each IGB vertical uses its own revenue measure:
- Casinos — adjusted gross receipts (AGR): what casinos win from players under Illinois’ definition, the base for the wagering tax.
- Video gaming — net terminal income (NTI): the IGB’s taxable revenue measure for terminals. The IGB also reports “amount played” and “amount won”; their difference, “net wagering activity,” was $3,185,703,973 in 2025, within 0.01% of NTI.
- Sports wagering — adjusted gross receipts (AGR): the sportsbooks’ taxable revenue, reported in-person and online.
Adding the three measures gives a total “gaming revenue” for IGB-regulated gambling. It is a WagerFacts sum of three different definitions, presented because each is the amount the industry kept before taxes. All figures are calendar years unless marked as fiscal years (July to June), which is how COGFA reports. The IGB counted 8,861 video gaming locations and 49,450 terminals at the end of 2025, alongside 17 casinos and 14 active sportsbooks.
Illinois Gambling Revenue by Vertical: The 2025 Data
The table compiles revenue for each IGB-regulated vertical in 2025 and 2024, with each vertical’s share of the total.
| Vertical (measure) | 2025 | Share 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video gaming (NTI) | $3,185,923,121 | 48.2% | $3,004,400,094 | +6.0% |
| Casinos (AGR) | $1,943,722,562 | 29.4% | $1,689,206,497 | +15.1% |
| Sports wagering (AGR) | $1,476,523,893 | 22.4% | $1,233,050,505 | +19.7% |
| Total | $6,606,169,576 | 100% | $5,926,657,096 | +11.5% |
Video gaming’s share fell from 50.7% to 48.2% because casinos and sports wagering grew faster. The video gaming network itself expanded modestly: establishments rose 2.3% and terminals 1.5% from the end of 2024.
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Establishments (year end) | 8,861 | 8,662 | +2.3% |
| Terminals (year end) | 49,450 | 48,706 | +1.5% |
| Amount played | $34,976,720,334 | $33,619,078,232 | +4.0% |
| Net terminal income | $3,185,923,121 | $3,004,400,094 | +6.0% |
| NTI tax | $1,115,064,259 | $1,036,548,596 | +7.6% |
NTI equaled 9.1% of amount played in 2025. Averaged across the network, that is about $359,544 of NTI per establishment and $64,427 per terminal for the year.
Illinois Gambling Taxes: State and Local Shares
The state share of 2025 taxes can be rebuilt exactly from the IGB’s vertical tables. The four components add up to the IGB’s reported state total of $1,905,074,340.
| Source | State taxes 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Video gaming (state share of NTI tax) | $955,055,071 | 50.1% |
| Sports wagering (statewide tax) | $479,643,314 | 25.2% |
| Casinos (state share: admissions and wagering) | $408,178,068 | 21.4% |
| Sports wagering (per-wager tax, Jul–Dec) | $62,197,887 | 3.3% |
| Total state taxes | $1,905,074,340 | 100% |
where:
total taxes = state plus local taxes reported by the IGB for 2025
total gaming revenue = casino AGR + video gaming NTI + sports wagering AGR
For 2025: $2,201,626,107 ÷ $6,606,169,576 × 100 = 33.3%. Local governments received $296.6 million: $160.0 million from video gaming, $121.0 million from casinos and the remaining $15.5 million from other IGB-reported local distributions.
2025 vs. 2024 and Other Illinois Gambling
State taxes from the three verticals rose from $1,495,997,218 in 2024 to $1,905,074,340 in 2025, a 27.3% increase — more than twice the 11.5% growth in revenue. Sports wagering drove most of the gap: its statewide tax rose 79.9% under the graduated rates that began in fiscal year 2025, and the per-wager tax started in July 2025. Video gaming’s state share rose 8.0% and the casino state share 18.2%.
Two other forms of gambling sit outside the IGB’s figures. COGFA’s 2025 report on wagering in Illinois shows the Illinois Lottery had $3.756 billion in sales in fiscal year 2025 (down from $3.858 billion in fiscal 2024), with $777 million transferred to the Common School Fund. Illinois horse racing handle was $477.7 million in calendar year 2024, the lowest in over 40 years according to COGFA. Because these use different periods and measures (sales and handle, not revenue), they are not added to the IGB total.
Methodology & Limitations
Datasets. Illinois Gaming Board, 2025 Annual Report (calendar year 2025 with 2024 comparisons: casino summary, video gaming revenue, sports wagering revenues and total tax revenue) and 2024 Annual Report (2024 casino totals); COGFA, 2025 Update: Wagering in Illinois (fiscal year 2025 lottery; calendar 2024 horse racing). All accessed November 2026.
Calculations. Total gaming revenue = casino AGR + video gaming NTI + sports AGR. Shares = vertical ÷ total × 100. Percent change = (2025 − 2024) ÷ 2024 × 100. State taxes = casino state share + video gaming state share + sports statewide tax + per-wager tax; the sum equals the IGB’s reported state total. The 2024 state total was built the same way from 2024 values (no per-wager tax existed). Other local distributions = IGB local total − video gaming municipality share − casino local share. NTI per establishment and per terminal use year-end counts.
Limitations. AGR and NTI are different definitions, so the combined total is an aggregation, not a single official statistic. Per-establishment averages use year-end counts, while revenue accrues across the year. The 2024 sports AGR is the figure restated in the 2025 report. Lottery and horse racing data are fiscal or prior-year figures and are shown for context only. Charitable games and bingo are not included.
Key Figures at a Glance
The headline Illinois gambling figures for 2025, with their period and source, are collected below.
| Figure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| IGB-regulated gaming revenue | $6.61 billion | Calendar 2025 |
| Video gaming NTI | $3.19 billion | Calendar 2025 |
| Casino AGR | $1.94 billion | Calendar 2025 |
| Sports wagering AGR | $1.48 billion | Calendar 2025 |
| Total taxes (state + local) | $2.20 billion | Calendar 2025 |
| Video gaming locations | 8,861 | End of 2025 |
| Illinois Lottery sales | $3.756 billion | Fiscal 2025 |
Related Data
Two verticals are covered in depth: Illinois casino revenue by casino and game and Illinois sports betting handle and revenue. For other state profiles built the same way, see Pennsylvania gambling revenue by type and New Jersey gambling revenue and taxes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & References
- Illinois Gaming Board — 2025 Annual Report, calendar year 2025 (accessed November 2026)
- Illinois Gaming Board — 2024 Annual Report, calendar year 2024 (accessed November 2026)
- Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability — 2025 Update: Wagering in Illinois, fiscal year 2025 (accessed November 2026)
