Sports bettors in Chicago will start 2026 with the way they ended 2025, having access to all the major online sportsbooks available in the state.
Members of the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) threatened to exit the city and potentially the state in a lawsuit filed earlier this week. As part of the suit, the five sportsbooks requested a temporary restraining order to avoid enforcement of a new tax and licensing regime in the state. That new plan, which includes a 10.25% tax on wagers taking place in Chicago, and special city licenses for operators took effect on Thursday.
However, as of Tuesday, the state had not issued these licenses, prompting bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel to take to court.
Chicago doled out licenses in time
In the wake of that filing, the city took action and issued the necessary licenses to be in compliance to start the year.
“We’re pleased to see the city moved quickly yesterday to maintain the operations of legal platforms that provide customer protections not available in the illegal market. Given these developments, there was no longer any need for an expedited TRO. The SBA will nevertheless continue to pursue in court resolution of the invalidity and unconstitutionality of the City’s recently passed license and tax ordinances. Chicago sports fans will continue to have the benefits of legal, regulated sports wagering without interruption heading into the new year,” an SBA spokesperson said in a statement.
SBA still pursuing suit over new city tax
As the statement noted, the lack of licensing is but one element of the lawsuit. The claim also contends the new 10.25% tax is both unenforceable on any online wagers in Chicago and illegally established, both things the city claims are not accurate.
The state tax passed as part of the new city budget and is the latest in a string of changes for Illinois sportsbooks, including an overall tax hike with a gradiated system as well as a new per-wager fee that went into effect earlier this year.
The suit also takes issue with the licenses themselves, as there are no additional regulations or standards to meet not already imposed by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) state sports betting licenses.
Those issues will be duked out in court over the coming months. While the threat to go offline did not come to fruition, the new tax in a state that keeps upping the price for regulated operators to play has operators commited to putting their foot down and fighting back.
