Johnson Advances the Chicago Sports Betting Tax

Among a number of potential revenue legislations that will further enrage licensed Illinois sportsbooks, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson proposed a 10.25% tax on the city’s sports betting earnings. This tax would be higher than the state’s present revenue and per-wager tax sliding scale, which ranges from 20% to 40%.

This year and last, Illinois state legislators closed budget gaps in Springfield by imposing tax increases on the sports betting sector in the second-largest legal betting market in the United States. In an effort to close a projected $1.2 billion gap in his 2026 budget, Johnson now suggests doing the same in the nation’s third-largest city.

All sports betting earnings in the city would be subject to the 10.25% levy; at the moment, DraftKings pays a 2% tax on earnings from its retail sportsbook next to Wrigley Field. Such operator winnings would be subject to a minimum effective tax of 32.25% under Johnson’s proposed rate.

A progressive tax with a base of 20% and a ceiling of 40% based on revenue thresholds was passed by Illinois on sports betting revenue last year. Chicago is part of Cook County, which currently levies a 2% tax on any income received inside its boundaries.

The recently implemented wager levy on all mobile bets, which is 25 cents per wager for the first 20 million accepted wagers and 50 cents per wager for each operator throughout a fiscal year, is not related to these taxes. That was approved in May as part of Governor JB Pritzker’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget and went into effect on July 1. It brought in $21.1 million in sales during the first quarter of the fiscal year and has been a constant target of criticism from industry stakeholders.

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