Illinois Advances Invoice to Forestall Chicago Sports activities Betting Tax Hike

• Home committee strikes invoice to dam Chicago sports activities betting tax enhance
• If handed, it’d verify that gaming tax energy rests with state lawmakers
• Illinois raised sports activities betting taxes in 2024 and 2025

Illinois lawmakers might have lastly met a tax enhance they don’t like. On Wednesday, the Illinois Home Gaming Committee superior Home Invoice 4171 (HB 4171), which if handed, would bar the state’s dwelling rule cities from implementing sports activities betting regulation insurance policies of their very own, together with taxation.

An Illinois Home committee superior a invoice to thwart Chicago’s sports activities betting tax. (Picture: Shutterstock)

Initially proposed by Rep. Daniel Didech (D), the chairman of the gaming committee, HB 4171 was launched in response to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s (D) proposed sports activities betting tax of 10.25% on operator income generated within the Windy Metropolis. If Johnson’s plan stands, sports activities betting firms working in Chicago would see their charges surge to almost a 3rd of receipts generated.

That’s as a result of Illinois beforehand raised sports activities wagering tax in 2025 and 2024. Final 12 months, the state applied a new levy of 25 cents per wager on an operator’s first 20 million booked bets, with that charge doubling to 50 cents per guess for every wager positioned after that preliminary 20 million. The 12 months prior, Illinois went to a progressive tax system below which the most important operators by market share pay extra in taxes than smaller rival.

Didech Acknowledges Prior Tax Will increase

In a November letter to Chicago aldermen in regards to the metropolis’s sports activities betting tax gambit, Didech acknowledge the state’s aforementioned tax will increase.

The Illinois Normal Meeting has already elevated the state’s sports-betting tax twice in consecutive years—first from a flat 15 % to a tiered charge as excessive as 40 %, after which by including a per-wager evaluation,” he wrote. “Illinois now has one of many highest sports-betting tax burdens within the nation. Definitely, this was a troublesome vote to make sure that the state had the mandatory revenues it must serve all those that stay inside our state. Subsequently, we acknowledge the significance of discovering income to offer providers.”

He additionally identified that permitting dwelling rule cities to set their very own tax requirements for state-regulated industries may set “harmful precedent” whereas doubtlessly fostering flimsy frameworks undermining consistency sought by legal guidelines handed on the state stage.

“The ripple impact may prolong far past gaming,” wrote the lawmaker. “Some of these insurance policies may open the door for a patchwork of native taxes in different state-controlled coverage areas, making enforcement and compliance practically inconceivable.”

Sports activities Betting Alliance Says Extra Taxes Cut back Bets

The Sports activities Betting Alliance (SBA), an trade commerce group, is difficult Johnson’s tax scheme in courtroom and seems to assist the Didech invoice.

The commerce affiliation notes that variety of bets positioned by way of regulated means in Illinois decline from September by means of November 2025 because of the aforementioned per guess tax. Nonetheless, information point out deal with hasn’t suffered in materials vogue.

“The info is a warning signal that Illinois’ patchwork of rules has direct penalties to the state’s revenues in addition to the general public coverage targets of accountable gaming,” the SBA mentioned in a press release. “Within the face of excessive taxes, gamers are migrating to unlawful betting websites and bookies which can be cheaper to play, working with none regulation or client protections in place, and bringing in zero tax income to the state.”