Illinois Senators Pass Controversial Budget Increasing Sports Betting Tax

Illinois senators have passed a fiscal year 2025 budget that includes a significant increase in the sports betting tax, a move that will greatly affect the income of the state's largest operators. Under the new budget, the lowest tax on operators will be 20%, and the highest will be 40%.

The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), which includes major operators like BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics sportsbook, and FanDuel, has criticized the budget, calling it a "deeply disappointing decision that will cause real harm to the industry." The new tax scale is as follows: companies with an annual gross revenue (AGR) of up to $30 million will pay a 20% tax, those earning between $30 million and $50 million will pay 25%, revenues reaching $100 million will be taxed at 30%, earnings between $100 million and $200 million will be taxed at 35%, and operators with income over $200 million will face a 40% tax.

The SBA reported that 55,000 Illinois citizens have already emailed legislators, urging them to vote against the increase. Jeremy Coudon also expressed concerns on social media, stating that the proposed progressive sports betting tax "punishes sports betting operators who have invested millions in the local economy and created jobs in the state."

Illinois will be the first US state to implement such a high progressive tax on gambling, including sports betting. By comparison, in Arkansas, similar industry income is taxed at 13% for companies with earnings up to $150 million and 20% for those with incomes exceeding $150 million.