Illinois Casinos Post 15% July Revenue Growth on Land-Based Transitions

Illinois casino revenue climbed to $192.7 million in July, its strongest year-over-year performance in recent months, with two Hollywood Casino properties delivering triple- and double-digit gains after completing moves from riverboat to land-based formats. Neighbouring Iowa tells a contrasting story, with aggregate revenue falling 6% as most of its 19 casinos shed ground.

• Illinois casinos generated $192.7 million in July 2026, a 15% year-over-year increase, according to Illinois Gaming Board figures
• Slots accounted for $147.2 million of the Illinois total, up 15.4%, while table games contributed $45.4 million, up 13.8%
• Hollywood Casino Joliet and Hollywood Casino Aurora posted year-over-year gains of 196% and 84.4% respectively after transitioning from riverboat to land-based operations
• Rivers Casino reported the highest single-property revenue in Illinois for the month, up 6%, while three casinos, Harrah's Joliet, DraftKings at Casino Queen, and Grand Victoria, recorded declines
• Iowa casino revenue fell to $136.1 million in July, down 6% year-over-year, with slots, which account for the vast majority of the state's gaming income, declining 6.7%

Illinois's 15% July Surge Is Almost Entirely a Land-Based Transition Story

Illinois casinos reported aggregate revenue of $192.7 million for July 2026, a 15% increase on the same month a year earlier, according to figures published by the Illinois Gaming Board. Slots drove the result, generating $147.2 million, up 15.4% year-over-year, while table games added $45.4 million, up 13.8%. The headline growth rate, however, is substantially shaped by two properties that completed format transitions in the past year rather than by a broad-based expansion in consumer demand.

Hollywood Casino Joliet, which opened in its new land-based configuration in August 2025, posted a 196% year-over-year revenue increase, recording $12.2 million for the month. Hollywood Casino Aurora, which made the equivalent move to a land-based property in June 2026, reported $17.4 million, up 84.4%. Both properties are operated by Penn Entertainment. The comparison base for Joliet in particular reflects a period when the riverboat facility was in its final operational weeks, making the triple-digit percentage gain more a measure of format uplift than organic market growth.

Striping out the Hollywood properties, the rest of the Illinois market shows a more moderate picture. Rivers Casino led all properties with the highest July revenue, recording a 6% increase, though the absolute figure was not separately detailed in the Board's release. Wind Creek posted $19.7 million, Hard Rock Casino Rockford and Bally's Chicago each reported $13.1 million, Full House Resorts generated $12.4 million, and Grand Victoria came in at $12 million. Three casinos recorded revenue declines: Harrah's Joliet fell 12.8%, DraftKings at Casino Queen dropped 8.8%, and Grand Victoria slipped 2.5%.

The Illinois result sits within a broader national context of resilient US commercial gaming performance, where land-based casino revenue has continued to show strength even as online channels, particularly iGaming, take a growing share of total handle in states where both are legal. Illinois does not yet have a legal online casino market, meaning its land-based figures represent the entirety of the state's casino GGR.

Iowa's 6% Decline Signals a Different Regional Dynamic

Iowa casinos generated $136.1 million in July 2026, down 6% year-over-year, according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. Slots, which make up the overwhelming majority of the state's gaming revenue, yielded $123 million, a fall of 6.7%. Table games offered the only positive vertical, rising 0.8% to $13.1 million, though the absolute contribution remained modest relative to machine revenue.

Of the state's 19 casinos, Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino reported the highest monthly revenue at $20.2 million, essentially flat against the prior year. Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs generated $13.2 million, down 3.9%, while Ameristar II fell 16.5% to $11.4 million. Rhythm City Casino recorded the sharpest decline, down 28.4% to $7.1 million, with Lakeside Casino and Great River Casino also falling 12% and 10.9% respectively.

Only four of the 19 casinos posted year-over-year growth. Bally's Marquette, which relocated landside in March 2026, was up 35.8% to $2.3 million, echoing the Illinois pattern in which format transitions generate the most visible gains. Harrah's Council Bluffs rose 4.6%, Q Casino grew 2.7%, and Wild Rose Jefferson edged up 1.6%. The concentration of Iowa's declines in its slot-heavy, standalone venues suggests consumer demand softness rather than structural issues, though the Iowa Commission's release did not attribute the decline to any specific cause.

The Land-Based Transition Effect Is the Dominant Variable in Both States

The most analytically significant finding across both states is that format transitions, specifically the move from riverboat to permanent land-based casinos, are currently the single most powerful driver of property-level revenue change. In Illinois, the Hollywood brand's combined contribution to the headline 15% growth rate is substantial: without the two Penn Entertainment properties, the statewide picture would look considerably flatter. In Iowa, Bally's Marquette's 35.8% gain is the only standout in a market otherwise broadly in decline, and it is also the state's most recent land-based conversion. This pattern is consistent with what has been observed in other regional markets where regulatory modernisation has allowed riverboat operators to move ashore: the land-based format typically delivers a step-change in revenue in its first full year of operation, driven by improved accessibility, larger gaming floors, and the ability to offer a broader non-gaming amenity mix. The effect is real, but it is also temporary, and regulators and operators should expect the comparison-base advantage to normalise within 12 to 18 months.

Iowa's Broad-Based Decline Warrants Attention Beyond the Headline Figure

Iowa's 6% aggregate decline is not simply a statistical artefact. With 15 of its 19 casinos either declining or flat, the state's land-based market is showing signs of demand pressure that are not easily attributed to a single property or event. The slot-heavy composition of Iowa's revenue base makes the category's 6.7% fall particularly significant, as machine gaming tends to be the most stable and recurring component of casino GGR. Comparable regional softness has been noted in other Midwestern markets, and operators with multistate footprints, such as those assessed in recent Wall Street analyst commentary on regional gaming, have flagged consumer spending caution in non-destination markets as a recurring theme through 2026. Iowa's July figures are one data point, not a trend, but the breadth of the decline across properties of different sizes and ownership groups makes it worth monitoring into the autumn.

Illinois's iGaming Absence Keeps the Land-Based Market Insulated, for Now

One structural difference that amplifies the importance of Illinois's land-based data is the absence of legal online casino gaming in the state. In markets where iGaming operates alongside retail, online casino growth has consistently outpaced land-based performance, with Pennsylvania's recent record fiscal year illustrating how the two channels can coexist and together expand the taxable base. Illinois's 15% land-based growth is therefore the full picture of the state's casino sector for July, not a partial one, and any future iGaming legalisation would likely reframe how these figures are read. For multistate operators evaluating regional capital allocation, the Illinois data confirms that modernised land-based assets in the state retain genuine revenue-generating capacity. The question is whether the state's political appetite for iGaming legalisation will eventually redirect some of that demand online, and whether operators will be positioned on both sides when it does. Rush Street Interactive's casino-first model and its Illinois footprint offer one live test of how operators are navigating that balance today.