Illinois recognizes gambling addiction, allowing new treatment options
[July 28, 2026]
By Maggie Dougherty
CHICAGO — Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill Friday that officially
recognizes gambling disorder as an addiction in Illinois.
The legislation, Senate Bill 2749, updates the state’s existing
Substance Use Disorder Act to codify gambling addiction under the same
framework as alcohol and drug use disorders, allowing the Illinois
Department of Human Services’ behavioral health division to offer
programs and support to compulsive gamblers and affected families.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, said recognizing
the disorder under the law would make it easier for the state to provide
resources for those struggling with gambling addiction.
“We see people who have alcohol dependencies, people who have drug
addictions. I think we recognize those as disorders, and it’s in
statute, and we are providing different granting mechanisms, different
ways to help those people across the state,” Morrison said. “We haven’t
done that with gambling, and that’s what this bill is about. It’s just
recognizing the fact this is also another addiction disorder, and those
people also need the help.”
The bill passed with broad bipartisan support this spring, receiving
dissenting votes from only 11 Republican representatives in the House
and passing unanimously in the Senate.
Gambling disorder is often considered a hidden disease, as the symptoms
can be less physically evident than alcohol or drug abuse. But according
to experts, the dopamine release that compulsive gamblers receive when
placing a bet creates a compulsion just as strong.
Gambling also has one of the highest rates of suicide of any addictive
disorder; the National Council on Problem Gambling estimates one in five
compulsive gamblers have tried to take their own life.
In Illinois, more than a million people, over one in 10 adults, are
estimated to have a gambling addiction or to be at risk of developing
one.
A recent investigation by Capitol News Illinois and Illinois Answers
project found that people in Illinois lost over $7.7 billion gambling
last year. That spending is fueled by compulsive gamblers, who drain
inheritances, work bonuses and nest eggs to fund their addiction.
The ability to hide the disease — and the lack of public awareness about
it — means people don’t often seek treatment, according to providers who
specialize in gambling addiction treatment.
When they do, the resources available to help them remain “a leap year
behind” treatment options for alcohol and drug addiction, according to
Ryan Aten, a policy analyst with the Illinois Association for Behavioral
Health, or IABH, which advocates for the prevention and treatment of
addiction and mental illness.
Still, Aten cheered the bill becoming law as a “massive step” forward.
“SUD (substance use disorder) has treatment facilities. There’s not
gambling facilities in the same way,” Aten said. “This is a big step
because we’re really bringing the attention first. Attention is the
thing that gambling needs, because it is something so normalized as a
whole.”
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A sign advertises slot machines at a video gaming cafe in west
suburban Oakbrook Terrace. (Credit: Victor Hilitski for Illinois
Answers Project)
According to IDHS, recognizing gambling as an addiction under the law is
intended to provide a level of legitimization for the disorder, helping
to address public stigma.
The bill took immediate effect after receiving Pritzker’s signature.
What’s covered, and what’s not
Before the passage of the bill, compulsive gamblers in Illinois could
only receive state-funded inpatient services if they also had a
substance use disorder that required in-patient treatment. The law now
allows the state to offer treatment for compulsive gambling on its own,
according to IDHS.
It also allows the state to provide additional training to addiction
counselors and expands options for prevention services, such as offering
early awareness and intervention programs in high schools and colleges.
“The Pritzker Administration has made clear that gambling must be
responsibly regulated, with strong consumer protections and meaningful
investments in treatment and prevention,” a spokesperson for Pritzker
told Capitol News Illinois in an email. “SB 2749 builds on that
commitment by strengthening Illinois’ approach to gambling disorder
prevention, education and treatment.”
However, advocates like IABH worry about the lack of guaranteed funding
or specific timeline for implementation in the legislation. The bill did
not allocate any new funding for treatment, though lawmakers set aside
$15 million in the fiscal year 2026 budget to the treatment and
prevention of compulsive gambling, up $5 million from the year before.
But the amount the state actually spends to treat gambling addiction
remains small: Only $0.06 for every $100 collected in state gambling
taxes was devoted to treatment and prevention last year.
People familiar with the bill say it does not make gambling addiction
treatment eligible for Medicaid payments, a major barrier to treatment
for low-income people, though IABH analyst Aten said he hoped to see a
bill introduced next session that could build on the groundwork laid by
this law.
Now that the addiction has been recognized, Aten added, the actual
prevention and treatment resources can follow.
“This bill has been probably one of the biggest gambling bills we’ve
seen in many, many years, because it does bring that awareness and does
bring the attention to an emerging problem,” Aten said.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
