On the same day that Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sent out an alert that he had sent a cease and desist letter to PrizePicks and Bovada, a second bill to change the daily fantasy sports industry in the state dropped in the state Senate.
Sen. Bill Cunningham filed SB2145 last Friday. The bill would regulate DFS and reorganize how sports betting licenses are organized within the state.
The legislation argues that, “santasy contests are sufficiently similar to sports wagering to necessitate regulation by the state.” Currently, there are on regulations overseeing fantasy sports in Illinois but DFS companies offer contests to customers as unregulated operators.
Bill would tax DFS at same percentages as sports betting
The bill would regulate fantasy and define it as a contest with at least two participants, removing the option for fantasy against the house. Applicants would pay a $50,000 application fee to obtain a $500,000 license with a four-year term. Renewal fees would cost $50,000.
The bill also proposed a tiered tax structure that is based on adjusted gross receipts within the state:
Up to $1M in AGR: 20%
$3M – $5M in AGR: 25%
$5M – $10M in AGR: 30%
$10M – $20M in AGR: 35%
Over $20M in AGR: 40%
The tiered tax mirrors a similar framework passed by the legislature last year for sports betting with the same rates. In most states, DFS is taxed at a significantly lower rate than sports betting.
Measure would cut costs on $20M online-only sportsbook license
In addition to establishing regulated DFS, the bill would also rejigger the way sports betting licenses are awarded in the state. For years, there have been three online-only master licenses available for a $20 million licensing fee that no one has appliied for. During bidding processes for the licenses, some operators like Betway have moved forward only to withdraw mid-way through the process.
This bill would drop the cost of the license to $15 million and remove the cap on how many licenses can be awarded.
There is another DFS bill in the legislature this year too. SB1224 from Sen. Lakesia Collins would authorize both peer-to-peer and against the house fantasy. The tax rate would be between 10-15% depending on an operators adjusted gross receipts. A similar bill was introduced in 2024 but failed to move out of committee.
