Illinois raises sports betting tax as part of the 2026 budget
Minutes before midnight on Saturday, Illinois lawmakers passed an additional tax on sports bets.
The new tax will incur US$0.25 for every bet placed with a licensed sportsbook for the first 20 million bets, and US$0.5 on every bet thereafter.
The new charge is one of several new taxes the state has introduced to collect US$1 billion for public transit funding as part of the US$55.2 billion state budget. It follows a previous tax increase on online sportsbooks from 15% to 40% that was introduced last year.
The new surcharge caught many bettors off guard, but on Saturday, prominent figures in the US gambling market tried to spread the word.
US sportsbook operators DraftKings and FanDuel attempted to warn legislators against the tax just prior to it passing on Saturday
The Ringer and Barstool, which have partnerships with FanDuel and DraftKings, respectively, voiced their discontent with the proposed hike.
According to Front Office Sports, in a now-deleted tweet, the Ringer said the tax would only “hurt sports fans in Illinois and potentially drive them to the illegal market.” Meanwhile, prominent Barstool figure Dan Katz (known as Big Cat) made a video in which he said, “Tell them no.”
Since the tax was passed, the Sports Betting Alliance, including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Fanatics, has released a statement condemning the decision.
“We will continue to fight this discriminatory tax alongside our customers – both right now in Illinois and in any state that considers these harmful tax changes in the future,” it said.
Dig deeper
Verticals:
Sectors:
Topics:
