Golden Nugget Illinois welcome bonus: Up to $250 in value

Use the bonus code PLAYBONUS to qualify for a free initial bet of up to $250 on the Golden Nugget Sportsbook app.

The welcome bonus at Golden Nugget operates in a straightforward manner. Upon creating your new account and applying the bonus code, you will be granted an extra bet equivalent to your first bet. This is applicable whether your first bet is a win or a loss, up to a maximum of $250.

The funds you receive will be in the form of a bonus bet, not cash. It’s important to note that your first settled bet with Golden Nugget will be the eligible wager, and not necessarily the first one you place. Additional terms and conditions will also apply.

Golden Nugget Sportsbook Illinois promotions

There are numerous promotions available for Illinois sports bettors at Golden Nugget Sportsbook.

• Boost Your Parlay: This promotion allows you to increase the percentage of your parlay bet, starting at 3% for three-legged parlays and reaching up to 20% for a 20-selection parlay. Remember, each selection must have odds that are -145 or higher.
• Golden Lines: This is the daily odds enhancement offered by the sportsbook, where the betting lines and odds are increased to amplify your potential earnings. Usually, “Golden Lines” limit your maximum bet to $25, and the enhanced odds cannot be combined into a parlay bet.
• Golden Nugget provides a weekly mission that gives you the opportunity to be part of a $3,000+ giveaway. Simply opt in and you’ll be eligible for the drawing if the community goal is achieved. Even though the odds of winning might not be high, entry is free.

Ensure to keep an eye on your email and the Golden Nugget promo page due to frequent new promotions.

Is Golden Nugget legal in Illinois?

Indeed, Golden Nugget Sportsbook is lawful in Illinois. In 2020, Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) secured a 20-year agreement with Danville Development, paving the way for GNOG to break into the sports betting market in the Prairie State.

In June 2019, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois legalized sports betting by signing the Sports Wagering Act. The first lawful sports bet was placed in March 2020.

Once Golden Golden Nugget is operational in Illinois, online signup will be possible without any need for in-person registration.

However, please note that although Illinois allows betting on college sports, it strictly forbids wagering on games involving colleges and universities based in Illinois.

How to create a Golden Nugget account in Illinois

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up your Golden Nugget Sportsbook account in just a few minutes, whether you’re using the app or the website:

1. Access the Golden Nugget app or the Golden Nugget website for Illinois.
2. Click the red “Sign Up” button located in the upper-right corner.
3. Input your email address, generate a password, and then press “Next.”
4. Input your complete name, birth date, gender, and the final four digits of your Social Security number, then press the “Next” button once more.
5. Please provide your address and phone number. Following this, choose and respond to a security question. On this page, you will also be required to input the bonus code PLAYBONUS.
6. Once you have entered all the necessary information, click “Next” one final time to set up your Golden Nugget Sportsbook account.

Golden Nugget Sportsbook app in Illinois

Here’s a guide for downloading and installing the Golden Nugget app on your Android or iOS device, before we delve into what you need to know about it.

How to download the Golden Nugget app

You can click our sportsbook site links and follow the instructions to download the app for your device. After tapping on the link from your phone or tablet, a prompt will ask if you wish to download the file.

The download should only require a few minutes. Upon completion, click on the file and choose “Install.” You might be prompted to confirm if you trust the file’s source you’re about to install. If so, select ‘yes’ once more.

Once the app installation is complete, you can proceed to set up your account.

Navigating the Golden Nugget app

Upon launching the Golden Nugget app, you’ll quickly realize that it’s not just a sportsbook but also an online casino. Thus, if online casinos get legalized in Illinois, you would be able to utilize it for this purpose too. However, for the purpose of this review, we’ll only focus on the sportsbook aspect.

On the right side of the page, you will find links to your account, the deposit page, customer support, and Golden Nugget’s social media pages.

The center of the screen is where the majority of the action occurs, including live and other games. A dropdown menu situated at the same location provides promos, betting guides, a view of your betting history, and more. Adjacent to this is your bet slip, displaying all your pending bets.

Best features of the Golden Nugget Sportsbook app

We believe the following features of the Golden Nugget Sportsbook app are among the best:

• Payment and Withdrawal Alternatives: It’s a major disadvantage for an online sportsbook to offer a fantastic app loaded with promotions, but have limited banking options. However, Golden Nugget provides numerous methods for depositing and withdrawing funds from your account.
• Endorsement from a Reliable Brand: In Illinois and across the country outside of Nevada, legal sports betting is still a budding industry. Having a trustworthy brand like Golden Nugget for legal sports betting is beneficial. Its long-term presence is guaranteed, and it has secure systems to safeguard your information.
• Golden Nugget Sportsbook provides a customer service department that is available 24/7, 365 days a year, ready to assist you via call, chat, or email.

How could Golden Nugget Sportsbook improve?

Here are our opinions on a few areas where Golden Nugget online sportsbook could benefit from some enhancements:

• Dedicated App for Sportsbook: We don’t appreciate the mixed sportsbook-online casino app, regardless of the legality of online casinos in Illinois. With the Golden Nugget app, the default setting is the casino, which necessitates constant navigation to the sportsbook. Having two separate apps would simplify this. Take DraftKings and FanDuel as examples: they each run successful sportsbook and daily fantasy sports sites, with dedicated apps for each.
• Rewards/Loyalty Club Improvement: Golden Nugget does offer a loyalty club, yet a minimum of 5,000 Golden Points is required to join their VIP Rewards Club. It seems excessive that such a high number of points is needed for qualification. This club is also strongly linked to Golden Nugget’s online casino. Ideally, we would like to see a rewards program that is specifically designed for the sportsbook.
• Improved and Increased Promotions: Golden Nugget could significantly improve its current promotional offerings. Their existing promotions are not only sparse but also not very impressive. One area for improvement is the welcome offer, which could be much more enticing. It would be great to see an increase in the frequency and quality of their regular promotions. Take the parlay boost, for instance – while it’s a nice offer, a 20% increase on 20-leg parlay is something very few of us will ever utilize.

Types of bets available at Golden Nugget Sportsbook

Here is a list of the different sports bets you can place at Golden Nugget, complete with descriptions and examples of how they work:

• Moneyline refers to wagers placed simply on the outright winner of a match. The numbers in the moneyline represent the following: For instance, in a game between the Chicago White Sox at -220 and the Chicago Cubs at +190, the minus sign denotes that the White Sox are favored, requiring a bet of $220 to yield a potential $100 win. Conversely, the Cubs are considered underdogs, with a wager of $100 potentially earning you a $190 win.
• Spreads: These are wagers where the selection you choose must “cover the spread.” This means that if you bet on the favorites, they must win by a certain number of points, while underdogs are allowed to lose but only by a certain number of points. For instance, if the spread is Chicago Bears -5.5, Green Bay Packers +5.5, it means the Bears are expected to win and must do so by at least six points. On the other hand, the Packers, being the underdogs, can either win the game or lose but by no more than five points.
• Also known as over/unders, totals are a type of wager where you bet on the aggregate number of points scored. For instance, if the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons are playing and the total is set at 217.5, you would place a bet on whether you believe the combined score of the Bulls and Pistons will be over or under 217.5. So, if the game ends at 110-100, those who bet on the under would win.
• Proposition bets, or prop bets, are wagers that aren’t directly related to the final result of a contest. At Golden Nugget Sportsbook, you can place these bets on virtually any sport. For instance, you could bet on whether Mitchell Trubisky, a quarterback, will throw a touchdown pass in a Bears’ game, or if Jonathan Toews will score a goal in a Chicago Blackhawks’ game.
• Parlays: These are types of bets where you combine multiple selections into a single wager. Parlays can encompass various sports and bet types. For instance, you can form a parlay where you bet on the Blackhawks moneyline, the Bears covering the spread, and the Bulls game total going over. If all these outcomes occur, your parlay bet wins.
• Teasers: These are predominantly associated with football and basketball. They involve wagering against the spread across multiple teams. For instance, if you wish to bet on three games with team lines at +5.5, -3.5, and -10.5, you could manipulate these lines by six points. This would change the lines to +11.5, +2.5, and -4.5, making all the games more advantageous for you.
• Round Robins Betting: In this type of betting, you group your bets, but not as a single entity like in a parlay. Suppose you’re placing a bet on the Bulls, Bears, and Blackhawks in a round robin. This would result in individual bets on the Bulls and Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks, and Bears and Blackhawks all to win. This approach safeguards you if only two out of your three choices are victorious. And, if all of them are successful, you will cash in all three of your bets.
• Futures: These are wagers placed on events that are set to take place in the future, beyond just a single game. Futures betting is frequently linked with betting on teams to secure championships or players to secure regular-season awards. Additionally, you can place bets on the total number of regular-season wins for a team in futures betting.
• In-Game Betting: This refers to wagers placed after a game has already commenced. The odds in live betting can significantly change in response to pivotal game events, so be ready to place your bets before the figures alter.

Sports you can bet on at Golden Nugget in Illinois

The Golden Nugget online sportsbook in Illinois offers odds and lines on nearly every team and league.

The Golden Nugget app allows you to place bets on a variety of professional sports including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, and UFC. Beyond that, it also provides betting markets for the PGA Tours, WTA and ATP in tennis, and NASCAR and IndyCar in motorsports.

Should soccer be your preferred sport and the MLS doesn’t satisfy your passion, numerous international leagues such as the English Premier League, Champions League, and Spain’s La Liga are available, among others.

Lastly, you can even attempt to test your luck with smaller, lesser-known sports.

Illinois team betting guide

You’ll observe that our discussion is solely focused on professional teams. Betting on games that involve colleges and universities based in Illinois is prohibited by law.

At Golden Nugget, you can place bets on two Major League Baseball teams from Chicago: the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox. Both teams have a rich history, with over a century of existence each, and both have claimed three World Series titles. They are affectionately known as the North Siders and South Siders.

In the NBA, the Chicago Bulls are a prominent team. They secured six NBA championships within eight years in the 90s, largely due to the exceptional performance of Michael Jordan, also known as His Airness.

The Chicago Bears, a renowned franchise of the NFL, reside in Chicago. They have clinched the Super Bowl once, defeating the New England Patriots in 1985. Despite this, the Bears boast more players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 35 in total, than any other team.

The Chicago Blackhawks, another leading organization from the Windy City, boast six Stanley Cup titles in total. Remarkably, three of these victories have been since the 2009-10 season.

The Golden Nugget Sportsbook app allows you to bet on two more professional teams from Chicago. One of them is the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. Unlike many other teams, they are not affiliated with their NBA counterpart, the Bulls.

Next, we have the Chicago Fire. In 1998, during their inaugural season, they became one of the few sports franchises to win a championship. Chicago has made it to the MLS Cup Finals two more times, unfortunately losing on both occasions.

Golden Nugget Illinois futures market

If you’re new to online sports betting in Illinois, you should know that futures betting involves placing bets on season-long or championship events, rather than just betting on a single game.

The types of futures markets offered by sportsbooks can vary, but here’s a preview of the likely futures markets you’ll encounter at Golden Nugget in Illinois.

• Championship Futures: This market is one of the most favored among futures markets. It allows you to place bets on the Bears, White Sox, Cubs, Blackhawks, Bulls, Sky or Fire to clinch the title in their respective sports. Championship futures are often available directly after the previous champion is crowned. You also typically have the option to bet on the winners of the conference and division.
• Betting on Season Win Totals: This type of futures betting is ideal, particularly if you wish to place a bet on your preferred team, but don’t necessarily believe they’ll clinch the championship that year. When betting on the total wins in a regular season, Golden Nugget Sportsbook will give you the total, allowing you to choose either over or under. For instance, if we take the Chicago Bears, they could have a projected win total of 8.5 games for the season.
• Player Futures: In player futures markets, you can place bets on anticipated MVP award winners and similar outcomes. Golden Nugget often provides odds on statistical achievements, particularly in relation to NFL leaders in passing, rushing, and receiving.

Odds for future games can swiftly shift when a team executes a significant trade or signs a free agent, or when a star player is sidelined for the season. This was seen with the Golden State Warriors and Klay Thompson before the 2020-21 NBA season.

How to deposit and withdraw on the Golden Nugget app

The Golden Nugget online sportsbook stands out due to the variety of ways you can deposit and withdraw funds, both remotely and in person. Here’s an overview of all the options you have for managing your Golden Nugget Sportsbook account:

• American Express, Visa, and Mastercard credit cards.
• Online bank transfer
• PayNearMe locations
• PayPal
• Prepaid Play+ credit card
• VIP Preferred

Please note that deposit methods such as Amex, Visa, Mastercard, and VIP Preferred require a minimum of $20, while the remaining options only need a minimum deposit of $10.

These are your withdrawal options from Golden Nugget:

• Bank wire transfer
• Check by mail
• PayPal
• Prepaid Play+ credit card
• VIP Preferred

To have a check mailed to you, you need a minimum of $300, whereas a minimum of $500 is required for a bank wire transfer. PayPal and Play+ card transactions only allow a minimum cash out of $10. For VIP Preferred, the minimum withdrawal amount is $20.

How to contact Golden Nugget customer support

An additional advantage is the availability of customer support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Please feel free to reach out by calling 1-855-873-1010 or emailing [email protected] Alternatively, you can use the Golden Nugget app or website to initiate a live chat with a member of our customer service team.

Responsible gambling at Golden Nugget

Golden Nugget, as a component of lawful, regulated gaming, advocates for responsible gambling habits.

The Golden Nugget’s website provides resources for those struggling with a gambling problem. In addition, Golden Nugget allows you to impose limits on your gambling amount and frequency. If your problem is serious, they also offer the option to completely ban yourself from their online sportsbook.

Is Golden Nugget the best sportsbook in Illinois?

Golden Nugget is still a long way off from being considered the top sportsbook in Illinois. Despite having the support of a leading name in the casino industry, it still falls short when compared to other Illinois sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, and PointsBet.

All the sportsbooks have demonstrated the capacity to be among the Prairie State’s finest. There’s no reason why Golden Nugget can’t eventually attain such high standards.