Illinois Bill Proposes Ending Per-Bet Fee for Sportsbooks

A new bill introduced in Illinois proposes ending the per-bet fee enacted last year. If passed, sportsbooks will no longer face charges for each bet they accept from July 1 this year.

Rep. Daniel Didech, chair of the House Gaming Committee, filed HB5143 on Tuesday. It adds an amendment to the sports wagering act, changing the per-bet fee from “Beginning on July 1, 2025, and each month thereafter” to “Beginning on July 1, 2025, and ending July 1, 2026.”

Currently, sportsbooks are charged $0.25 for the first 20 million bets accepted, and $0.50 for any wagers on top of that figure. The per-bet fee is in addition to a sliding-scale tax on revenue, ranging from 20% to 40%, depending on the volume generated. Lawmakers introduced this new rate in 2024.

New Taxes Generating Substantial Revenue

Initial data pointed to a drop in the number of bets placed, with September seeing 15% fewer wagers, but betting handle was up on the previous year. That trend has continued, with overall betting handle for 2025 reaching $15.6 billion, an increase of 12% from 2024.

The number of bets placed fell by 4.1% for the year, with December seeing the biggest drop. In the final month of the year, bettors placed over 25% fewer wagers.

For the year, operators generated $1.45 billion in revenue, up from $1.23 billion in 2024. The state collected just under $500 million in taxes. In 2024, the state collected $266.7 million. That marks an increase of 87.5%. The taxes collected in 2024 were also 75% more than in 2023, following the increased rates on operator revenue.

Lawmakers had targeted $36 million in additional taxes per year when introducing the per-bet fee, which was surpassed in just four months. Six months after Governor JB Pritzker ratified the new fee, the state had collected over $60 million in additional tax revenue.

Users Paying Costs

In response to the new fee, sportsbooks have passed on the costs to bettors. There are 10 sportsbooks licensed for online betting in Illinois, and they introduced the following measures last year:

Pass on fees directly

• FanDuel implemented a $0.50 transaction fee per bet.
• DraftKings also introduced a $0.50 surcharge on each bet for Illinois customers.
• Fanatics began charging a $0.25 per-bet transaction fee for all wagers in Illinois.
• Caesars Sportsbook added a $0.25 fee per online bet.
• bet365 applied a $0.25 fee for wagers of less than $10

Raise the minimum stake

• BetMGM: set a $2.50 minimum bet in Illinois.
• BetRivers: raised minimums (initially $1 and later up to $5).
• ESPN BET (now theScore Bet): instituted a $1 minimum bet requirement.
• Hard Rock Bet: raised its minimum to $2.
• Circa Sports significantly increased its minimum bet to $10 in Illinois rather than charging a per-bet fee.

As a result of the changes, bettors are placing fewer bets for bigger stakes and losing more money. Joe Maloney, president of the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), says lawmakers are dodging responsibility in favor of tax revenue.

He said bettors are “increasing the size of their bet, which is something many responsible gaming experts warned policymakers about, or they’re looking elsewhere, illegal or unregulated platforms.”

In Chicago, the SBA has sued the city over its introduction of a further tax on sports betting. City Mayor Brandon Johnson added a 10.25% tax on revenue from bets placed in the city in his 2026 budget.

In addition to the bill to repeal the per-bet fee, Rep. Didech has introduced legislation to block the Chicago tax. The legislation, filed in October, has yet to progress past the Rules Committee, but has attracted more support. In total, 32 representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.

With more tax revenue being generated, it remains to be seen whether the majority of lawmakers will support the two bills.