Illinois Sports Bets Plunge by 5 Million as Operators Respond to Higher Taxes

• Trade group backing sportsbooks says per-bet fees are leading to fewer wagers
• Handle did not decrease; it rose year over year
• Operators imposed per-bet fees and minimums in response to tax increase

The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) of Illinois, a trade association supporting sportsbook operators in the state, said Thursday bettors there placed five million fewer bets in September than they did a year earlier in response to per-wager fees and minimums implemented by gaming companies.

September was the first full month in which bettors in the Midwest state were subject to the transaction costs and minimum wager requirements enacted by operators in response to the state’s latest sports betting tax increase — 25 cents per bet on the first 20 million bets booked, with that figure doubling to 50 cents for every bet after 20 million.

When compared to September 2024, the September 2025 data shows that 5 million fewer bets were placed in Illinois — or a 15% decrease,” said the Sports Betting Alliance of Illinois, citing data from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB).

Most of the operators in the state opted for minimum bet sizes, in all cases small, but DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel charge Illinois bettors on a per-bet basis.

Illinois Sports Betting Tax Not Affecting Handle

The SBA previously decried the Illinois tax increase, saying it’s a recipe to chase bettors offshore, meaning the state would generate less revenue. While it’s true the total number of bets placed declined in Illinois in September, what didn’t fall was handle, or the total dollar volume of sports bets.

Still, the SBA is correct about at least one thing: the graduated tax increase implemented by Illinois in 2024, followed by this year’s per-bet levy, has pushed the state’s online sports wagering taxes to among the highest in the country.

“Coupled with Illinois’ 2024 graduated tax, the state’s per-wager tax has made the taxes paid by legal sports betting customers here one of the highest in the country while the unregulated, illegal market is rapidly expanding – without any consumer protections and without any oversight,” said the trade association.

Cash-strapped Chicago is contemplating a city-specific sports betting tax to bolster revenue, but there’s some sense lawmakers in Springfield aren’t on board with that plan.

Where Prediction Markets Fit In

Perhaps surprisingly, given the hoopla surrounding sports event contracts, the SBA of Illinois didn’t mention prediction markets in its statement, and it’s not clear if the five-million-bet attrition in Illinois mentioned by the group was prompted by the event contract platforms.

For now, however, that’s just speculation.