US EditionBetting Stocks Decline as Illinois Raises Taxes on Legal Sports Wagers
- In 2025, Illinois lawmakers passed a $55.2 billion state budget that includes a new tax on legal sports wagers starting July 1 within the state.
- The tax hike follows a previous increase from 15% to 40% last year and was motivated by the state's goal to raise more revenue from a profitable sports betting market.
- The new legislation introduces a tax of $0.25 per wager for up to 20 million online sports bets each fiscal year, increasing to $0.50 for any additional bets beyond that threshold, impacting leading companies like DraftKings and FanDuel that are expected to exceed this betting volume.
- DraftKings called the tax discriminatory and FanDuel labeled it punitive, while a representative from the Sports Betting Alliance warned the cost will ultimately fall on customers.
- The tax led to declines in betting operators’ stock prices and raises concerns that Illinois bettors may face fewer promotions and turn to unregulated sportsbooks lacking consumer protections and tax contributions.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Sports betting stocks slide after Illinois lawmakers approve tax hike – CNBC
Wall Street is left wondering if other states will follow Illinois’ lead and try and plug their budget deficits by either adopting or increasing online sports gambling taxes. Both chambers of Illinois’ state legislature passed a budget that includes a tax of 25 cents per wager on the first 20 million online sports bets made each fiscal year, rising to 50 cents per bet after.
Illinois lawmakers passed a radical sports betting tax hike while most bettors slept
It’s about to get a whole lot more expensive to bet on sports in Illinois. While many residents and sports bettors slept Saturday night, Democrats in the Illinois state legislature passed a tax hike on betting regulators that will ding each operator $0.25 per bet on the first 20 million wagers accepted annually then $0.50 per bet thereafter as part of their new budget.
Fit to Play with Jim Johnson: The lure of sport gambling
I made my first sports bet when I was in college. I was getting a haircut and the barber handed me a betting sheet for the week’s college football games. I sat down, filled it out, gave him $5 and left. The next day I learned that I had won – easy money. I showed up early the next week, got the new sheet and placed a bigger bet. I lost all my money. The pain from losing that money overwhelmed the joy of winning. I never placed another bet, intri…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 71% of the sources are Center
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
Ownership
To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage
