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Illinois' Sports Betting Taxation Increases As $55.2B State Budget Is Passed

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Illinois' Sports Betting Taxation Increases As $55.2B State Budget Is Passed

Article author: Vitalii Klymenko

06.04.2025

5 min read

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Andrew Shepard is a roulette specialist with more than ten years of field experience. He covers international markets across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas. At Daybet.biz, he leads content on strategy testing, simulators, and game mechanics.

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Illinois legislators are looking to plug holes in the state’s budget with new taxation laws on local sports betting, nicotine product sales, and a few other types of operations. Prairie State's Democrats passed a $55.2 billion budget for 2026 during the weekend, leaving almost no time for public review. The $55.2 billion in embedded spending is offset by $55.3 billion in revenue, including over $1 billion in expected income from the newly enacted tax laws.

From the point when the changes become active, sportsbooks operating in Illinois will be taxed 25 cents per wager for the initial 20,000 wagers accepted. All further wagers will cost sportsbooks 50 cents each, making Illinois’ betting environment one of the harshest in the country. This change aligns with Gov. JB Pritzker’s position on tighter gambling legislation, the state’s recent ban on credit cards for gambling use, and a lawsuit brought against Stake.us due to their local social casino operations.

Industry actors and experts have heavily criticized the changes, citing legislators' indifference to warnings about the potential collapse of legal betting in the state. In their view, new taxation inherently fails in its purpose of promoting market competitiveness and, in turn, endangers the previous progress. Combating offshore gambling has long been a priority of the legal part of the industry since such operators lure in players with seemingly better bonuses but provide zero to no consumer protection. Many licensed sportsbooks in Illinois may shrink their operations due to financial losses, paving the way for offshore sites to fill the void, the experts worry.

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