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Illinois Responsible Gambling Help and Self-Exclusion
Get the right help first, then compare what each Illinois control or exclusion actually blocks, how long it lasts and what it leaves open.
Public-source support, program and account-control synthesis; not a diagnosis, treatment plan, emergency service, legal advice or enrollment service. How we testEditorial policy
Help and program routes checked July 26, 2026
Start with the route, not the label
How does gambling help and self-exclusion work in Illinois?
If gambling feels unsafe or hard to stop in Illinois, call or text 1-800-MY-RESET or use NCPG chat now; call or text 988 for emotional crisis, and call 911 for immediate danger. Illinois has no single exclusion that blocks every product. The IGB program covers casinos and sports wagering for at least five years, while Lottery uses separate online-only and all-play processes. The VGT email registry is not self-exclusion, and racing accounts require separate account action.
Choose by urgency
Choose the right help right now
Use the first matching path. Support is available to the person gambling and to loved ones.
Immediate danger
Call 911 now for immediate public-safety or medical danger. This guide, NCPG and 988 do not replace emergency response.
Emotional crisis or suicidal thoughts
Call or text 988, or use 988 Lifeline chat. The 988 route is for emotional distress and crisis; it is separate from gambling-program enrollment.
Gambling is hard to stop
Call or text 1-800-MY-RESET or use NCPG chat for 24/7 gambling-related support, information and referrals. Loved ones may use the same route. For Illinois treatment and referral access, call 1-800-GAMBLER or text ILGAMB to 833234. No payment, insurance information or personal data is required to receive MY-RESET resources.
Ready to block access? Compare the exact product route next.
Product-specific access blocking
Illinois Stop & Exclusion Planner
Choose the exact product and channel. The same word—self-exclusion—does not create the same start action, coverage, account effect or removal path.
| Product or channel | Current Illinois route | How to start | Commitment and effect | What it does not cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois casinos | IGB Self-Exclusion Program (SEP). The same state list also covers Illinois sports wagering. | Enroll personally and in person at an IGB-sanctioned site. Bring a valid driver’s license or state-issued ID; allow about 30–45 minutes; there is no fee. IGB offices inside casinos do not require an appointment, although staff may ask you to return if duties conflict. Contact other sanctioned sites first. | Minimum five years. Entry or play after enrollment can lead to forfeiture of claimed or unclaimed jackpots, winnings, chips, tokens, vouchers or electronic credits covered by the rules, donation of seized value and possible trespass arrest. Removal after five years is discretionary, not automatic; reenrollment after later removal is permanent under the current casino rule. | Does not itself cover VGT locations, Illinois Lottery, racing/ADW or every out-of-state property. Affiliate effects may occur through approved disclosure or operator discretion; do not assume either Illinois-only or nationwide coverage. |
| Illinois sports wagering | IGB SEP through the same Self-Exclusion List used for casinos. | Use the same personal, in-person IGB enrollment process described above. Do not look for a separate online sportsbook SEP form. | Minimum five years. Online accounts are suspended, outstanding wagers are void and the remaining account balance is refunded under approved controls. An in-person ticket may be returned to its issuing licensee for original-stake refund before the dependent event begins; after the event begins, the wager is void and the stake is forfeited and donated under the rule. Removal is discretionary after the minimum term. | Does not itself cover VGT, Lottery, racing/ADW or an unlicensed/offshore account. It is not the shorter online sportsbook restriction in the next table. |
| Illinois video gaming terminals (VGTs) | IGB Video Gaming Problem Gambling Registry—resource emails only. It is not SEP. | Enroll in the IGB registry system and verify the email link. Illinois and out-of-state residents may enroll, and enrollment may be cancelled at any time. Open the IGB VGT resource-email registry | The registry sends recurring problem-gambling resource emails. It does not block entry to licensed VGT locations or prevent terminal play. | IGB said on June 12, 2026 that it was evaluating technology to incorporate SEP into video gaming, but had made no decisions and finalized no technology or implementation. Treat VGT SEP integration as not live as of July 26, 2026—not as covered, pending activation or coming soon. |
| Illinois Lottery online play only | Illinois Lottery online self-exclusion by Player Hotline. | Call 1-800-252-1775 and ask for online Lottery self-exclusion. | Minimum five years. Account funds are automatically refunded, active subscriptions are cancelled, online account access/play and Lottery marketing stop, and a ticket bought before the request but drawn afterward has its prize withheld. | Does not make the player ineligible to buy retail Lottery tickets. Use the all-play agreement below when the intended commitment includes online and in-store play. |
| All Illinois Lottery play | Illinois Lottery Self-Exclusion from Play and Prize Payment Agreement (PDF). | The current Lottery page links a notarized 2008 agreement and publishes:Illinois Lottery; Attention: Legal Section; 101 W. Jefferson, MC5-950; Springfield, IL 62702.Current §1770.240 requires a Department-established agreement and a duration selection, but the posted form has no duration field. Before mailing, call 1-800-252-1775 to confirm the current form, duration-selection method and address; do not add a homemade field. Then sign before a Notary Public and follow the confirmed Department instructions. |
Current §1770.240 requires a one-year, five-year or lifetime selection; lifetime is available only after at least six prior months on the list. The selection may be increased but not decreased. The person remains listed after the selected term until removal is requested and approved; removal cannot be requested before five years and cannot precede the selected term’s expiry. Do not promise removal from a lifetime selection. The participant is ineligible for online and in-store play; continued purchases are not refundable, and cash or non-cash prizes are void and uncollectible. | Current §1770.240 requires licensed retailers to verify that every person seeking to buy a ticket is not on the list, refuse a person identified or suspected as listed, and report a listed person’s purchase or attempted purchase, while the posted 2008 agreement says retailer enforcement is not feasible. State both records. Do not promise flawless point-of-sale blocking, rely on a completed retail sale as proof of eligibility or imply that retailer noncompliance creates a private recovery right. |
| Horse racing and ADW | No centralized voluntary racing/ADW self-exclusion enrollment route was published in the current IRB pages and rules checked July 26, 2026. | Review each provider’s current Board-approved account terms and ask each ADW provider to close, cash in or restrict the account under those terms. Repeat the action for every account and use a gambling-help route for support. | The effect, timing and balance handling are provider- and account-agreement-specific. Preserve the request and response. | Do not call this an Illinois-wide racing cooling-off period, promise immediate closure/refund or assume one provider action blocks a track, OTB or another ADW account. |
Reversible steps before a long exclusion
Use a shorter account control first
These current online controls can reduce access while a longer decision is considered. They do not make gambling safe, erase losses or replace a product-specific exclusion.
| Account | Actions available now | When the change takes effect | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois online sportsbook | Use the responsible-gaming function to limit the dollar amount of wagers, prohibit new deposits or prohibit all wagers for a chosen term. Account closure and withdrawal remain available while a restriction is active. | Choose 72 hours through one year. The restriction cannot be removed before the chosen term ends. After expiry, the system must require acknowledgement before new wagers and offer renewal or extension. Direct digital sportsbook marketing is suppressed during the active restriction. | Internet wagering only; not a retail-ticket control, numeric deposit cap or IGB SEP. Use each account’s conspicuous support/closure route and save the account summary if needed. |
| Illinois Lottery online account | Lower the rolling seven-day deposit limit below the $1,050 maximum; lower the online Fast Play limit below 75 tickets in 24 hours; delete Auto Reload; cancel active subscriptions. | Lower deposit and Fast Play limits immediately. Raising a previously lowered limit takes 24 hours and cannot exceed the stated maximum. Auto Reload can be deleted and subscriptions can be cancelled, but already purchased tickets cannot be cancelled or refunded. | $1,050 is a deposit ceiling, not a spending/loss ceiling. The 75-ticket cap applies only to online Fast Play. These settings are not Lottery self-exclusion and do not control retail purchases. |
If a short control is not enough, use the product-specific exclusion route above and contact support now.
Claim-specific source trace
Illinois Help, Exclusion and Control Sources Checked
Checked July 26, 2026. Each row supports only the stated help, program, rule or account action; a listed route does not prove treatment outcome, universal access blocking or automatic removal.
| Source | Owner / class | Checked | Supports | Does not prove | Used in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent national support + federal crisis/emergency evidence | Call/text MY-RESET, chat, 24/7/365, loved-one access, no required payment, insurance information or personal data, recording and area-code-routing caveats; crisis and immediate-danger ownership. | Emergency response from NCPG, treatment outcome, Illinois exclusion or absolute anonymity. | banner; canonical answer; help paths; privacy boundary; footer | ||
| Illinois Department of Human Services / state treatment-referral and crisis evidence | Illinois treatment-service role, 24/7 1-800-GAMBLER, exact ILGAMB keyword and 833234 destination; Illinois 988 call/text/chat and 911 danger distinction. | Self-exclusion enrollment, provider quality, diagnosis, treatment availability for one person or recovery. | help paths; sources; footer | ||
| Illinois Gaming Board / regulator operational routes | Casino plus sports coverage, personal in-person enrollment, ID, duration, fee, casino-office appointment rule, enrollment finder and SEP inquiry category. | VGT, Lottery or racing coverage; online enrollment; automatic removal; one site’s immediate staffing. | canonical answer; casino and sports planner rows | ||
| Illinois Gaming Board / regulator program guidance | Five-year minimum, discretionary removal evidence, confidentiality/data sharing, spouse/loved-one limits, marketing delay, possible trespass, affiliated-property caveat and continued-play report route. | Automatic removal, nationwide blocking, legal advice or guaranteed IGB action. | casino and sports rows; consequences | ||
| Illinois administrative rules / casino and sports wagering | Casino forfeiture/removal/reenrollment effects; sports account, outstanding-wager, balance, retail-ticket and voluntary internet-restriction effects. | VGT/Lottery/racing coverage, treatment outcome, retail sportsbook numeric deposit cap or operator performance. | casino and sports rows; control table; consequences | ||
| Illinois Gaming Board + Illinois administrative rule / VGT registry and current-status evidence | Email-resource registry, verification, cancellation, explicit non-SEP status and IGB’s unfinalized VGT-integration research. | VGT entry/play blocking, live integration, implementation date or treatment. | canonical answer; VGT planner row; future-status note | ||
| Illinois Lottery / state-program operational evidence | Online-only hotline/term/effects; current all-play action page and Legal Section address; current deposit/Fast Play limits and self-exclusion account effects. | That the linked 2008 all-play agreement implements the current duration-selection rule, flawless retail POS blocking, automatic removal or casino/sports/VGT coverage. | two Lottery planner rows; Lottery control row | ||
| Illinois Lottery documents + Illinois administrative rule / legal-effect evidence | Current one-year/five-year/eligible-lifetime selection, five-year and selected-term removal gates, continuing-list rule, retailer purchaser-verification/refusal/reporting duties, ineligibility, notary and prize/refund effects; the posted agreement documents the unresolved form and retailer-enforcement mismatch. | That the posted 2008 form is the current Department-established form, how its missing duration selection is recorded, that the codified MC5-915 address supersedes the current operational MC5-950 instruction, flawless point-of-sale prevention, a private recovery right or favorable removal. | all-play planner row; term/removal boundary | ||
| Illinois Lottery / current account-operation evidence | Auto Reload deletion, subscription cancellation and already-purchased-ticket boundary. | Self-exclusion, ticket refund, retail control or a spending/loss ceiling. | Lottery control row | ||
| Illinois Racing Board + Illinois administrative rule / racing-account evidence | Licensed ADW route, provider-specific Board-approved account terms and current source set with no published centralized enrollment workflow. | That no racing exclusion can ever exist, immediate provider closure/refund or blocking across every track/OTB/account. | racing/ADW planner row |
Read before a long commitment
Before you enroll
A minimum period does not answer what happens next
IGB SEP uses a five-year minimum, not automatic removal. Lottery online-only sources prove a five-year/minimum period but publish no post-term account-reactivation rule, so do not promise automatic reactivation. Lottery all-play currently requires a one-year, five-year or eligible lifetime selection, remains listed until removal is approved, and cannot be removed before both five years and the selected term’s end; do not promise lifetime removal. IGB may require treatment records, identification, releases, a qualified-professional recommendation, investigation or interview; a casino may continue denying privileges after IGB removal. A person who leaves IGB SEP and later reenrolls is permanently listed under the current casino rule.
Enrollment is personal; confidentiality has operational limits
A person enrolls themselves; a spouse or loved one cannot place them on IGB SEP. IGB calls its records confidential but shares identifying data with casinos and sports wagering operations to enforce the program. NCPG does not require personal data for resources, but calls may be monitored or recorded and routing uses the phone number’s area code. State your actual location when local Illinois routing matters.
Keep the underlying product question with its owner
Use the Illinois page that owns the underlying product question
Page history
— Initial publication.