How Illinois sportsbooks are passing new state taxes on to gamblers
It didn’t take long for Illinois sportsbooks to even their odds when the state’s new tax-per-bet for online gambling went into effect earlier this year.
Now, nine of the 10 sportsbooks operating in Illinois have either added some type of surcharge to online bets made by gamblers on sporting events or created a minimum betting amount to help cover the additional tax burden.
How these new betting rules will affect gambling habits remains to be seen, experts say.
“Many are in a wait-and-see mode,” said Chris Altruda, senior analyst at Third Planet Media, which covers the gaming industry. “It’s hard to say which is best for the gambler because it depends on how someone is betting.”
The surcharges and bet minimums are in response to new taxes imposed by the state that charge sportsbooks 25 cents per bet on the first 20 million online bets made during the state’s fiscal year that runs July through June. The state charges sportsbooks 50 cents per online bet above the 20 million threshold.
The overwhelming majority of sports gambling in Illinois is done online, usually via mobile phone apps.
According to Illinois Gaming Board records, of the 389,094,052 sports bets placed between July 2024 and June 2025, more than 98.9% were done online. Even at just 25 cents a pop, the state would have generated more than $96 million if the per-bet tax was in place last year.
“It’s always a question of whether the customer is going to rebel or not,” said Alan Woinski, editor of the Gaming Industry Daily Report. “But it’s a different time now where everyone’s used to getting fees passed on to them.”
The state’s two largest sportsbooks — DraftKings and FanDuel — both added surcharges, as did Caesars and bet365. Fanatics also signaled they are planning to add a surcharge, but have yet to implement it. Most went into effect last month.
FanDuel’s surcharge is a flat 50 cents per online bet and it’s automatically added when the bet is placed with a notation stating “$0.50 Illinois state fee applies.”
Caesar’s is imposing a 25-cent surcharge on all online bets, while bet365 is charging 25 cents on all bets under $10.
DraftKings, which recorded the most sports bets in Illinois last fiscal year including 147,127,176 placed online, has a more convoluted surcharge plan.
According to company officials, the 50-cent surcharge will only be applied to parlay wagers under $10 and single bets under $50. It won’t be applied to bets made with “bonus bet tokens” or applied on bets made by gamblers with “silver tier loyalty” status or above either.
“We are disappointed that Illinois policymakers have chosen to more than triple our tax rate over the past two years, and we are very concerned about what this will do to the legal, regulated industry,” said Jason Robins, chief executive officer and co-founder of DraftKings.
Meanwhile, other sportsbooks have imposed bet minimums online to offset the new tax.
“They’re raising up the minimum so they can say they’re not putting on a surcharge,” Woinski said.
Hard Rock set a $2 minimum, ESPN Bet’s new minimum is $1, BetRivers and Bet MGM is now $2.50 and Circa is a $10 minimum.
Altruda notes the sportsbooks that set minimums are also less likely to hit the 20 million online bet threshold that will double the per-bet tax.
“Now it becomes a game of cat and mouse for competition,” he said.