Legalized igaming in Illinois
iGaming is already happening in Illinois, operating under legal loopholes and making massive profits while robbing the state of hundreds of millions in potential annual tax revenue.
- Illinois is facing a budget shortfall of $3 billion, but legalizing iGaming could bring $450 million in tax revenue in just the first year — and eventually generate up to $1 billion a year.
- Since 2017, Illinois has lost out on over $1.7 billion in projected tax revenue from iGaming that could have been used to make schools better, streets safer, and help stabilize the budget.
- Legalizing iGaming in Illinois regulates the industry, protects players, and unlocks new tax revenue.
“In a tough budget year, you’re looking at ways to increase revenue. This is one tool for that….there is enough business to go around. We should do everything we can to shut down the illegal market.”
The Sun-Times reports that, “seven other states that have authorized internet gambling in recent years have seen significant tax windfalls.”
New Jersey and Pennsylvania alone pulled in a combined $108 million in revenue just from legal iGaming in 2024.
Online Casino Games
Unregulated online casino platforms are exploding in popularity across the United States. A recent Washington Post investigation detailed how unregulated iGaming platforms – like Chumba and VGW, Stake, and WOW – evade U.S. gaming laws and safeguards that prevent minors from gaining access and dodge billions in tax revenue that states could use to fund important priorities.
LATEST NEWS
Illinois’ sports betting industry experienced a pronounced drop in wagering volume this September, marking the first full month under the state’s newly implemented per-wager tax. Data from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB)
Five million fewer bets were placed in September than in the same month in 2024, according to data from the Illinois Gaming Board�
"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.
The choice is clear: Illinois can preserve a stable, regulated marketplace by maintaining a tax structure that keeps operators and players in the legal market. Pushing players to bet more and shifting them to the black market are not desirable outcomes for anyone
Chicago fans are now confronting the possibility of a second tax on wagers made in city limits
High taxes push consumers toward offshore and illegal markets. If bettors feel squeezed by bad odds, fees and disappearing perks they may return to the unregulated platforms that are not burdened by punitive regulations