2025 has seen some major shakeups in the world of Illinois sports betting, which began with lawmakers changing the state's tax structure to charge sportsbooks per wager. Sportsbooks have since responded with changes of their own, but there's even more change coming in the form of a likely ban on the use of credit cards for sports betting.
Illinois launched legal sports betting in 2020, and heading into 2024, the sports betting tax was 15%. That increased to a tiered system ranging between 20 and 40% last year, and now sportsbooks will be charged a per-bet tax of either 25 or 50 cents per wager.
The latest change in the state will likely come in the form of banning credit cards for funding sports betting accounts, with an aim on decreasing impulsive wagers by Illinois residents. Illinois wouldn't be the first state to implement this type of change, which would also impact cashless wagering at casinos. There's currently a public comment period that will continue through Aug. 25, after which the state legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules will review all comments and data before potentially approving or rejecting the proposal. This proposal was made by the Illinois Gaming Board.
How Illinois sportsbooks have responded
Since it was revealed the state would be charging sportsbooks either 25 or 50 cents per wager depending on the amount of bets it takes in a calendar year, sportsbooks have changed policies that impact bettors.
FanDuel was the first to make a change in Illinois, as the giant will start charging a 50-cent transaction fee on all sports bets. DraftKings soon followed suit with the announcement of a 50-cent transaction fee of their own, while Fanatics will charge 25 cents per wager. FanDuel and DraftKings will begin charging these fees on Sept. 1, while it's not yet clear when Fanatics will start implementing that charge.
The per-bet tax starts at 25 cents for each of the first 20 million wagers a sportsbook takes. After that threshold is reached, the fee moves up to 50 cents. The counter resets at the end of each year. FanDuel and DraftKings take in the most Illinois sports bets per year and will almost certainly reach that 50-cent tax benchmark after receiving 20 million wagers.
BetMGM also changing course in Illinois
While FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics all will be charging Illinois bettors 25 to 50 cents per wager placed, BetMGM is taking a different course of action.
Instead of a per-bet transaction fee, BetMGM has a $2.50 bet minimum for its users in Illinois, which began Wednesday, July 16. The sportsbook hasn't officially announced this decision, but an Illinois bettor posted a message from BetMGM on social media outlining the change, which impacts all bet types, including parlays and round robins. Additionally, it includes wagers used for making bonus bets.
These changes at the state level could change the amount of bets these top sportsbooks receive, which would then impact the amount of tax revenue the state of Illinois receives. It doesn't appear that any top sportsbooks are considering ceasing operations in Illinois, but they're at the very least countering these tax changes with various fees and minimums for bettors to ultimately deal with.
