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Rendering of the Ho-Chunk Beloit Casino
Ho-Chunk Nation says Ho-Chunk Gaming Beloit remains on schedule, with the casino portion planned to open on September 26, 2026. The casino project is one of eight that we are closely watching for 2026 here at iGaming.org
Good to Know
Beloit could soon become a larger gaming stop on the Wisconsin and Illinois border. The casino plan, which has been long in the making, includes 1,500 gaming machines, live entertainment areas, and more than half a dozen food and beverage outlets.
The hotel will come later. Ho-Chunk Nation expects more than 200 rooms, with a final count still open depending on demand. That part of the resort is due in mid-2027.
Hiring has already started. Ho-Chunk Gaming Beloit will hold another recruitment event from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 2 to 4 at the Beloit College Library, 735 College Street.
Ho-Chunk Nation President Jon Greendeer said the project should help local workers, vendors, and small businesses.
“It’s the mom-and-pop businesses that really benefit by having an industry this large coming in— we can’t utilize someone from Minneapolis or Chicago, it has to be someone right at home,” said Greendeer.
The resort will also include Ho-Chunk cultural references through artwork, design, and details tied to tribal history in the Beloit area.
“We never really left there,” he said. “It’s still a cultural landscape.”
Competition sits close by. Hard Rock Casino Rockford plans to open a hotel in late 2027, about 18 miles south of Beloit. Geno Iafrate, president of Hard Rock Casino Rockford, pointed directly to the new rival during that announcement.
“Everyone knows we have competition. New competition entering the market 18 miles north of us,” Iafrate said. “We have to defend Hard Rock Casino Rockford, and we have to defend this region, and we have to do so by expanding.”
Greendeer framed the Beloit casino as a local economic project for both sides of the state line.
“We are the best gaming industry in the Midwest without a doubt,” said Greendeer. “As far as competition goes, we’ve already won in terms of making sure that we’re a benefit to both the state of Illinois and the state of Wisconsin, Rock County, and the city of Beloit.”
“We’ve already established that. We are not taking our money and sending it somewhere else. We’re trying to keep that together so that we can all win together,” he added.
South Beloit also expects more traffic and business activity from the casino corridor. Mayor Tom Fitzgerald said the city will watch nearby revenue grow without receiving casino profits.
“It would make me more excited if we got part of the profits, but we are not,” said Fitzgerald. “We’re kind of sitting on the sidelines watching everybody else make money.”