By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The Illinois Gaming Board has reported a 15% drop in September sports betting, after the state imposed a new tax on wagers.

Sports Betting Alliance of Illinois spokesperson Maura Possley said five million fewer bets were placed in Illinois this September compared to September 2024.

“It shows that bets plunged in Illinois after the law was put in place and is a red flag that Illinois sports fans are fleeing the legal betting market in favor of the cheaper, illegal market,” Possley told The Center Square.

The $55.2 billion budget passed by the General Assembly last spring and signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June included the tax as part of more than $480 million in tax increases to pay for increased state spending.

Illinois imposes a 25-cent “privilege” tax on wagering licensees for each mobile or online bet up to 20,000,000 bets and 50 cents on each bet after that. The operators can then pass the cost on to bettors.

Possley said September was the first full month of betting activity since the tax was implemented. Although September is normally busy with the start of pro football season, college football and baseball’s pennant races, Possley said Illinois’ decline is a warning sign.

“Overtaxing legal betting will send bettors either outside state lines, city lines, or to the predatory illegal market and have profound negative implications for the legal market and also future tax revenues here,” Possley said.

Possley said the data from Illinois is a dramatic departure from trends in other states, adding that earnings reports from betting companies show that sports betting is increasing nationally.

According to Possley, Illinois’ per-wager tax is one of the highest in the country and may be driving bettors out of the legal market.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and his counterparts in other states asked the U.S. Department of Justice to take action against illegal online gaming.

“You see agreement among all of the attorneys general across the country that the illegal market is a serious concern. It’s rapidly expanding without any consumer protections and zero oversight,” Possley said.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has proposed an additional city tax on betting as part of his 2026 budget plan.

Possley said an additional betting tax as proposed by Johnson would be “unprecedented” and would drive more people to the illegal market.

She said the decline of legal sports betting in Illinois should be a concern to policy makers in Chicago.