Numerous online gambling operators have responded to Illinois‘ per-bet tax charge, but a pair of sportsbooks have taken a new step.
After FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics all confirmed plans to implement a transaction fee on wagers taken in Illinois, their Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) comrade BetMGM is instituting a minimum bet threshold in the state.
Starting Wednesday, July 16, anyone placing a wager with the operator will have to stake a minimum of $2.50, a BetMGM spokesperson confirmed to SBC Americas. The operator has shared the update with its players in Illinois.
BetMGM will not be the first. Hard Rock Bet recently began requiring users in Illinois to bet $2 or more every time they wager, a spokesperson from Hard Rock Digital told SBC Americas.
Illinois is one of the biggest online sports betting markets in the U.S. by both handle and operator revenue. Gamblers wagered almost $1.3 billion in April 2025 alone, per Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) reporting.
Half of Illinois sportsbooks pass cost onto bettors
In total, five of Illinois’ 10 licensed active online sportsbooks have now implemented or announced some kind of financial measure on users in response to the tax change.
FanDuel and DraftKings will both start charging 50 cents per bet placed in the state from Sept. 1, and Fanatics will make Illinois users pay 25 cents per wager starting sometime this fall. The fifth and most recent SBA member, bet365, has not confirmed any plans to make similar changes in Illinois.
FanDuel and DraftKings already pay 40% in tax on any adjusted gross gaming revenue above $200 million in Illinois thanks to the state’s move to a progressive tax rate last year. That shift nearly tripled the market leaders’ tax rate from the previous flat rate of 15%.
In its most recent revenue report, the IGB posted $38.7 million in sports betting tax revenue for April 2025. FanDuel and DraftKings together contributed around $30 million of that.
‘No reason’ to take small bets, said Circa CEO
Hard Rock and BetMGM are the first sportsbooks to implement minimum wagers in Illinois, but the alarm bell is ringing.
While the operators who have publicly responded so far have all been tier-one or tier-two sportsbooks, the CEO of Illinois’ smallest legal sportsbook by revenue share said in early June that there was “no reason” to accept small bets anymore.
“You can kiss those $1, $2, $5, $10 bets [goodbye],” said Circa Sports CEO Derek Stevens. “That’s going to be the good old days.
“Effectively, what it means is you’re gonna have to raise minimums, particularly for low-hold operators. If we try to hold 3%, by the time we’ve got to pay the federal excise tax and then we have to pay a fee to be an authorized gaming operator with MLB and others, then you throw this tax on, there’s nothing there. There’s no reason to take a bet less than 10 bucks.”
