Illinois casinos record a mild November boost amid volatility, marking a 1.3% year‑over‑year rise

The state’s casinos generated $154.8 million in adjusted gross revenue, a 1.3% increase from November 2024, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.

New entrants boost revenue, but major casino sees decline

The overall increase was driven by significant growth at Wind Creek and Hollywood Joliet, as well as a new contribution from Fairmount Park.

Wind Creek saw the largest year-on-year growth, with revenue increasing 52.2% to $15.5 million. Hollywood Casino Joliet followed closely, with a 51.1% increase to $11 million.

Fairmount Park, a new addition to the casino landscape, contributed $1.7 million to the state’s total.

Property comparisons for November

• Rivers Casino: 37,499,412 dollars (down from 43,299,351 dollars, –13.4 percent)
• Grand Victoria Casino: 12,210,916 dollars (up from 12,111,483 dollars, +0.8 percent)
• Wind Creek: 15,511,191 dollars (up from 10,191,509 dollars, +52.2 percent)
• Hollywood Casino Joliet: 11,010,489 dollars (up from 7,289,269 dollars, +51.1 percent)
• Hard Rock Casino Rockford: 11,251,456 dollars (down from 11,724,461 dollars, –4.0 percent)
• Harrah’s Joliet: 8,399,726 dollars (down from 10,240,866 dollars, –18.0 percent)
• Bally’s Chicago: 8,424,768 dollars (down from 9,723,506 dollars, –13.4 percent)
• DraftKings at Casino Queen: 7,375,683 dollars (up from 6,876,173 dollars, +7.3 percent)
• Fairmount Park: 1,673,687 dollars (new property)

Rivers Casino remains the state’s top revenue generator, with $37.5 million in November. Rivers still led the market by revenue, but its year-on-year dip was the biggest drag on the statewide total.

Harrah’s Joliet and Bally’s Chicago also experienced significant declines, with revenues down 18% and 13.4%, respectively.

Despite these drops, the gains at Wind Creek and Hollywood Joliet were enough to offset the declines and push the state’s total revenue higher.

Future outlook

The mixed results highlight the varying performance of Illinois’ casinos.

“Illinois’ casinos posted a slightly higher November overall, but the story is the split between big winners and clear soft spots,” said Alex Murphy, Digital PR Specialist at Casinos.com. “Wind Creek and Hollywood Joliet both jumped more than 50 percent year on year, which helped the state finish up 1.3 percent even with a sizeable pullback at Rivers and weaker results in parts of the Chicago market.”