Illinois legislation and sportsbook entities in standoff

State lawmakers and sportsbook companies are engaged in a conflict over a recent tax imposed by Illinois, resulting in FanDuel implementing an additional fee on each wager.

, and ASMedia

2025 June 14 . 2:57 AM

2 min read

State legislators in Illinois and sportsbook operators are locked in a dispute over a fresh tax... — State legislators in Illinois and sportsbook operators are locked in a dispute over a fresh tax imposed by the state, resulting in FanDuel imposing a new fee for every wager made.

Unfiltered Insights on Sports Betting Tax in Illinois

Illinois legislation and sportsbook entities in standoff

By: Slick Shooter06/11/2025 09:08 Sports Betting Tax Image by GPA Photo Archive / Conal Gallagher, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Skinny

Illinois has implemented a fresh tax on sports betting wagers
FanDuel and DraftKings are slapping a new fee for each bet in the state

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The Real Deal

FanDuel and DraftKings are hitting bettors where it hurts due to Illinois' novel per-wager tax. The bill demands operators to fork out $0.25 on the first 20 million bets in a fiscal year, and a whopping $0.50 for every extra bet after that. On top of that, they've gotta pay a high progressive tax on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), which can go up to 40% for big shots like FanDuel and DraftKings.

This multi-tiered tax structure slapped 'em with hefty tax bills. FanDuel's burgeoning from $52 million in 2023-24 to a hefty $136 million in 2024-25, while DraftKings bumped its tax payments up from $46 million to $116 million over the same period [3][5].

So, when the per-bet tax hits home as a "significant increase in the cost of operating in Illinois," these guys have no choice but to offload the expense onto customers. Expect a $0.50 charge on each online wager [4][5]. FanDuel kicked things off, followed swiftly by DraftKings, claiming the surcharge is a necessity to balance the new tax burden, which would otherwise snag their pricing for bettors [1][2][5].

All in all, the surcharges from FanDuel and DraftKings are a reaction to Illinois' new per-wager tax. This fresh tax arrangement has considerably inflated the cost of doing business in the state, forcing them to recover these costs by dinging the bettors every time they place a bet.

Slick Shooter, an expert in the US online casino industry, noted that FanDuel and DraftKings, popular in sports betting, have introduced fees for each bet in Illinois due to the state's new per-wager tax. This tax increase has resulted in significant costs for operators, causing them to pass on additional charges to their customers. This surcharge, introduced by FanDuel first and followed by DraftKings, is a response to the new tax burden in Illinois, leading to a higher cost for bettors in online sports betting.