Sports betting in Illinois comes with the fifth-highest taxes in the nation. Users on FanDuel, DraftKings or other sites had new fees start in September – just in time for the NFL regular season.
Illinois is one of the most expensive places in the nation to bet on sports.
Illinois ranks fifth in the U.S. for highest sports betting taxes and leads the Midwest. Lawmakers raised the state’s tax on online sports gambling from 15% to as high as 40%, then added a new fee on every wager: 25 cents per bet, and 50 cents if a sportsbook takes more than 20 million bets a year.
Illinoisans lost $1.12 billion betting on sports in 2024, including $700 million on long-shot, high-payout bets known as parlays that require multiple outcomes. With the new fees in effect, those losses will climb even higher.
The risk is bettors will return to unregulated, illegal markets where the state collects nothing and consumers have fewer protections.
The state budget is counting on those losses. Lawmakers expect even more sports betting revenue next year – which only happens if Illinoisans gamble, and lose, more money.
People should be free to place a bet, but state government shouldn’t be hoping they lose so it can spend more. If Springfield wants a competitive, healthy betting market that funds public services without punishing residents, lawmakers should roll back the per-bet fee and keep Illinois’ market attractive to players.
