Illinois lawmakers are considering a massive new tax rate increase on placing bets on your favorite teams.
Use this link to tell Governor Pritzker and your state legislators to say NO to a sports betting tax hike.
TAKE ACTION
Why does this matter? Raising tax on sports betting will have a MAJOR impact on your sports betting experience. Promotional offers, the best odds, and future innovative offerings will be at risk if politicians in Springfield significantly raise the tax rate on sports betting!
Click here to send a personal message to Governor Pritzker and your representatives in Springfield to
SAY NO TO THE SPORTS BETTING TAX HIKE!
This is a BIG L for Illinois customers
With prices at all-time highs, the last thing Illinois residents need right now is to increase the cost of another regular activity. A 133% tax rate increase will force operators to effectively increase the cost of sports betting through worse odds and few, if any, promotions.
This is a SUBSIDY to bookies and illegal market
Legal operators have just started to make serious inroads into Illinois’ robust illegal sports betting market. A tax rate increase will force operators to offer significantly worse odds, curtail promotions, and cut spending on customer service and innovative responsible gaming tools. This, in turn, will drive customers back to their dangerous bookies and illegal offshore operators. That means less—not more—tax revenue for the State.
Illinois businesses will pay the price
Less revenue to online operators translates into MUCH less revenue for their in-state market access partners— such as the state’s casinos and tracks. It will also lead to fewer ad buys on local TV and radio stations and a lot less money to spend on marketing partnerships with local teams and bars.
A higher tax rate will hurt competition
Sports betting in Illinois is already taxed at a higher rate than Michigan (10%), Iowa (6.75%), or Indiana (9.5%). A tax rate increase will likely drive all but the top three sportsbooks out of the state. That’s bad for customers and ultimately bad for Illinois.
There is a MUCH easier way for Illinois to balance its budget
It’s not even clear that a tax rate increase will achieve its desired objective. A tax increase will drive sports wagering to illegal offshore operators— which means the State will collect NO taxes. Instead, the legislature should legalize online casino gaming, which is projected to generate over $750M per year. That’s nearly 4x more revenue— money that would benefit the state and in-state businesses.