The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) expanded restrictions on casino, video gaming, and sports betting advertising to include college and university campuses.The regulations...
Illinois lawmakers against Chicago tax reforms
State lawmakers have urged Chicago officials to override Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed 10.25% city tax on online wagers, with concerns that bettors will turn to offshore, untaxed platforms.
Thirty representatives from Illinois have warned that adding another tax on top of the new tiered and per-bet tax will shrink the revenue and force players to turn to illegal platforms.
Representative Dan Didech, the chair of the House Gaming Committee, said:
“If you increase the tax so it becomes cost-prohibitive for gamblers, they will seek out overseas sites that … are more dangerous, more predatory, untaxed, and unregulated. That’s a direct loss in tax revenue for the state. That impacts our ability to invest in infrastructure.”
When sports betting was first introduced in Illinois, there was a 15% flat tax on revenue, but it changed in 2024 to a tiered system from 20% to 40%. In September 2025, gamblers placed 30.6 million bets, which was 5 million less than in September 2024. Consequently, operators have generated $103 million in revenue during September 2025, compared to September 2024’s $135 million.
Flutter CEO Peter Jackson spoke on the issue:
“As you’d expect, we’re seeing a reduction in the number of bets but increasing handle per bet. When we look at the September data, Illinois is definitely behaving in line with other states.”
Multiple states across the US have increased taxes on gambling revenue. Maryland recently raised betting taxes from 15% to 20%, while Ohio doubled the tax in 2023 from 10% to 20%.
Illinois lawmakers have approved a new state budget that includes a tax targeting sports betting, adding a fee of 25 to 50 cents on every wager placed in the state starting...
