Illinois has officially added gambling disorder to its behavioral health framework after Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2749 into law on July 24, 2026. The measure is now Public Act 104-0626 and takes effect immediately. By changing the Substance Use Disorder Act, the state places gambling disorder alongside substance use disorders when planning prevention, treatment and recovery services.

The updated law widens Illinois’ legislative findings by identifying gambling disorder as a public health concern. It states that “substance use disorders and gambling disorders are among the most serious public health problems in Illinois” and says prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery support services should be available to improve the health and well-being of affected individuals, families and communities.

Illinois expands behavioral health system to include gambling disorder

Another key change is the creation of a formal legal definition for gambling disorder. The statute describes it as “persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior leading to clinically significant impairment or distress” that is consistent with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) published by the American Psychiatric Association.

The legislation also gives the Illinois Department of Human Services a wider role. The department will oversee programmes focused on gambling disorder prevention, treatment and recovery support. Its responsibilities include public education campaigns, maintaining a problem gambling website and helpline, supporting research into gambling-related harms, encouraging suicide prevention efforts and awarding grants for gambling disorder services when funding is available. It must also work with the Illinois State Board of Education, where instructional resources are developed, to help make gambling disorder education available in schools.

The law also weaves gambling disorder into Illinois’ existing behavioral health system. Licensed substance use disorder treatment providers can offer gambling disorder treatment as an additional service, while recovery residences may accommodate people recovering from gambling disorder. Existing patient rights and confidentiality protections under the Substance Use Disorder Act now extend to those receiving gambling disorder prevention, treatment and recovery services.

Senate Bill 2749 was sponsored by Sen. Julie Morrison in the Senate and Rep. Bob Morgan in the House before winning bipartisan approval in the General Assembly. With the governor’s signature, Illinois joins a growing list of states formally recognizing gambling disorder within public behavioral health systems.

The move follows wider debate over gambling policy in Illinois. Last year, DraftKings chief executive Jason Robins criticized the state’s planned per-bet tax on major operators to curb problem gambling, arguing during a CNBC interview that higher costs could push consumers towards illegal betting markets or encourage larger wagers. He also warned that operators might have little choice but to pass some of those costs on to customers.

Featured image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0