Numerous Illinois state legislators want to block Chicago from continuing to implement its city tax on sports betting, and a bill to do just that got unanimous approval in a House committee on Wednesday.
Rep. Daniel Didech’s House Bill 4171 was approved 15-0 in the House Gaming Committee on Feb. 18. Didech is the committee’s chair and his bill has more than 30 co-sponsors as of Wednesday, including around half of the committee’s members.
The bill will now head to the full House for discussion and a potential vote.
Illinois’ unique betting tax structure
HB 4171 would amend Illinois’ Sports Wagering Act effective immediately to deny a home rule unit the power to regulate, license or tax sports wagering. In Illinois, most home rule units are municipalities with over 25,000 residents or counties with an elected chief executive officer. Cook County, which contains Chicago, qualifies as a home rule unit, as does the Windy City itself.
After Illinois overhauled its state-wide revenue-based tax system for online sports betting in 2024 and then added a controversial per-wager tax in 2025, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget for 2026 included a new 10.25% tax on the revenue that online sportsbooks generate on bets placed within the city. That city tax went into effect Jan. 1, 2026, despite the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) of leading operators taking the city to court over accompanying licensing issues.
A direct response to Chicago tax
Didech filed HB 4171 back in October, just days after the proposal came to light. He confirmed in a release issued at the time that the bill was “a direct response” to Chicago’s plan to impose a local tax. Cook County already taxed sports betting revenue in its jurisdiction at 2%; that tax would also be rendered unlawful by this bill.
“When the legislature legalized sports betting in 2019, it was never our intent to allow local governments to create their own rules for this industry,” added Didech at the time.
“The regulation and licensing of sports wagering, including, but not limited to, the imposition of fees, surcharges or other costs for the privilege of conducting or participating in sports wagering, are exclusive powers and functions of the State,” reads the text of his bill.
Representatives from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB), the Sports Betting Alliance and Caesars filed witness slips in support of the bill while Mayor Johnson’s Deputy Director of State Legislative Affairs, John Arena, was listed as one of the opponents.
Illinois legislators tackle tax
Illinois’ various tax changes, at both the state level and below, have transformed the state into one of the most expensive states for sportsbooks to do business.
Didech’s bill is not the only one that aims to reduce that burden. Senate Bill 2800, which would do exactly the same as Didech’s bill, has garnered 12 co-sponsors and is awaiting discussion in the Senate Gaming, Racing and Wagering Committee. Another one, SB 2760, would change state law to mandate that any municipality imposing fees on sports betting would have the total amount of those fees deducted from their allocation of certain funds, and that those fees would be redistributed to the state’s other municipalities and counties.
Meanwhile, while Didech has taken issue with municipalities trying to tax sports betting as well as the state, he also has state-wide taxes in his crosshairs. Another bill from the House Gaming Committee chair, HB 5143, aims to end Illinois’ per-wager tax this summer after just one year in effect.
