Illinois Casino Revenue Rises 10.4% to $182.9m as Bally's Chicago Gains 16%

Illinois' 17 casinos took $182.9 million in October, and Penn's new Aurora building again supplied more than a third of the increase. The surprise was Bally's Chicago, which grew 16% a month after growing just 2%, while the state's tax take rose faster than revenue.

• Illinois casinos generated adjusted gross receipts of $182.9 million in October 2026, up 10.4% year on year, according to the Illinois Gaming Board, with electronic gaming devices up 11.3% to $140.7 million and table games up 7.2% to $42.2 million
• Hollywood Casino Aurora rose 75.2% to $14.7 million and supplied 36.7% of the $17.2 million statewide increase, repeating the pattern seen in September
• Bally's Chicago grew 16% to $12.1 million on admissions up 9.6%, against 2.2% growth in September, as its dispute with the city over the permanent casino build continues
• The state's share of casino taxes rose 12.5% to $49.6 million, faster than revenue, and receipts for January to October reached $1.81 billion, 11.7% ahead of 2025
• Fourteen of 17 casinos grew, while Par-A-Dice, Walker's Bluff and Argosy Alton declined

Aurora and Wind Creek Lead a Fourteen-Casino Gain

Illinois casinos reported adjusted gross receipts (AGR) of $182,931,934 for October 2026, against $165,764,038 a year earlier, according to the Casino Summary published by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB). Admissions rose 4.1% to 1,391,547. CDC Gaming first reported the totals on 10 November.

Rivers Casino in Des Plaines remained the largest property, with $43.6 million, up 1.1%, or about 24% of the state total. Wind Creek Chicago Southland, listed by the board as Wind Creek IL, took $20.2 million, up 16.8%, adding $2.9 million to the statewide increase. Hollywood Casino Aurora followed at $14.7 million, then Hard Rock Casino Rockford at $13.0 million, up 4.6% on admissions down 12.9%.

Aurora's 75.2% gain came with admissions up 80.1% to 129,830. Penn Entertainment moved it off its Fox River riverboat into a land-based casino in June, and the IGB lists its gaming floor at 53,407 square feet against 41,384.

Fairmount Park in Collinsville rose 57.8% to $2.3 million, its tables taking $158,618 against nothing a year earlier. Golden Nugget Danville, listed as Danville Development, rose 23.2% to $3.8 million. Par-A-Dice fell 6.5% to $5.0 million, with table revenue down 30.9%; Walker's Bluff fell 1.6% and Argosy Alton 0.7%.

Bally's Chicago Accelerates at Its Temporary Site

Bally's Chicago, still operating from its temporary casino at Medinah Temple, took $12.1 million, up 16% on October 2025, with slot revenue up 25.3% and table revenue up 3.3%. It added $1.7 million to the statewide gain, the third-largest contribution. In its preliminary third-quarter results on 9 November, Bally's Corporation credited strong growth at the temporary Chicago facility but gave no opening date for the permanent River West casino.

The state's share of casino tax allocations, combining wagering and admission taxes, rose 12.5% to $49.6 million, and host communities received $11.7 million, up 10.5%. The IGB had not published October video gaming or sports wagering figures by 11 November. In September, the latest video gaming month, 50,141 terminals in 8,800 establishments produced $278.4 million in net terminal income, up 7.8% on a year earlier.

Aurora's New Building Is Lifting the State's Take Faster Than Revenue

Aurora's state tax allocation rose from $1.77 million to $3.83 million, and the state took 26.1% of its AGR against 21.1% a year earlier. At Hollywood Casino Joliet the share rose from 22.0% to 25.5%. PENN pointed to higher Illinois tax tiers at both properties when it reported third-quarter results. Excluding Aurora, state allocations rose 8.1%, broadly in line with revenue, so most of the gap between tax and revenue growth sits at one building. Penn keeps a smaller share of each extra dollar the new casino earns.

Strip Out Aurora and the Market Grew 6.9% on Flat Footfall

Without Aurora, AGR rose 6.9% and admissions at the other 16 casinos fell 0.3%. Revenue per admission across the state rose 6.1%, from $123.95 to $131.46. As in September, the growth outside the new building came from players spending more per visit, not from more visits. The monthly report does not publish handle or drop, so higher spend cannot be separated from favourable hold.

Illinois casino revenue is 11.7% ahead of 2025 for the year to date, and the tax take is growing faster. The test is whether that survives once Aurora laps its own opening next summer.