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Illinois lawmakers are moving to repeal the state’s per‑bet sports wagering tax after months of falling participation.
House Gaming Committee Chairman Daniel Didech filed HB 5143 in Springfield last week, aiming to remove the $0.25 and $0.50 surcharges that mobile operators currently pay at the end of each fiscal year.
The surcharge was added unexpectedly to Governor JB Pritzker’s budget last May and has already raised 62.2 million in the first half of fiscal year 2025‑26, far above the $40 million projected for the entire year when the measure was signed.
However, the push to repeal comes as betting activity in the state continues to fall. Since September, wagers have dropped sharply compared to the same period last year, marking the longest sustained decline since sports betting launched in Illinois.
Over four months, Illinois recorded about 27.6 million fewer bets, contributing to a 4.1% decline in wagers across 2025. That slowdown has already cost the state an estimated $6.9 million in lost tax revenue, defeating the very purpose of the surcharge.
Players baring cost of surcharge
The per-bet fee introduced in 2025 was the second tax increase Illinois bettors faced in as many years. In 2024, lawmakers replaced the flat 15% tax on gaming revenue with a tiered system that pushed the largest operators, including FanDuel and DraftKings, up to a 40% rate
When the per-bet surcharge was implemented, operators quickly shifted the burden onto players. FanDuel and DraftKings added a $0.50 charge to every wager, while Caesars, Fanatics, and bet365 set theirs at $0.25, with bet365 applying the fee only on bets under $10.
Other sportsbooks chose to raise minimum bet thresholds instead of direct surcharges. TheScore moved its minimum to $1, Hard Rock Bet to $2, BetMGM to $2.50, and Circa to $10. Even BetRivers, which were popular for their casual low-stakes players, lifted its minimum from $1 to $5.
Didech also goes for prediction markets
Rep Didech has also widened his legislative agenda with Hb 5142, a bill that would bring prediction markets under Illinois’ definition of sports wagering.
The proposal states that “participation in any prediction market” should be treated as sports betting, and it carefully outlines the types of contracts that would fall within the scope.
The bill specifies “transaction, whether described as a derivative, option, binary contract, or similar instrument,” making clear that these forms of wagering would be regulated alongside traditional bets.
The measure also addresses how such markets operate. It says wagers would be valid “whether the contract, agreement, or transaction is entered into on a peer‑to‑peer basis, whether participants take positions against one another rather than against the operator, whether the operator is not a counterparty to the transaction, or whether the operator describes the activity as an investing opportunity, exchange, marketplace, or prediction market.”
Didech’s move comes as the Illinois Gaming Board has taken a cautious stance toward platforms like Kalshi, Robinhood, and Polymarket. Last April, the agency issued cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com, followed by an October warning to licensed sportsbooks that even partnering with prediction markets could threaten their licenses.
In late January, Polymarket received its own cease-and-desist letter, though the board has not yet pursued lawsuits.
