BetMGM will require a minimum bet of $2.50 in Illinois beginning Wednesday, representing the latest pushback against the per-wager tax the state legislature passed in June for sports betting. The company has not formally announced its plan, but it sent a letter to customers, which was posted Friday on X by a recipient.
Written on Par-A-Dice Casino — BetMGM’s retail casino partner — letterhead, the notice says the minimum will be “applicable to all wager types,” including “bonuses, bonus bets, or tokens.” The company did not respond to an InGame request for more information.
Hard Rock Bet confirmed to InGame that it recently implemented a minimum bet of $2 on its Illinois platform.
The moves are in response to the Illinois legislature dramatically raising sports betting taxes for the second time in two years. In May, the legislature pushed through a first-of-its kind per-wager tax. Beginning July 1, operators are being charged 25 cents for each of the first 20 million bets they take in a year, and 50 cents for all bets over the first 20 million. The tax is projected to collectively cost operators $125 million per year.
FanDuel was the first operator to respond. On June 10, it announced that it would charge Illinois consumers 50 cents for each bet placed. DraftKings followed two days later, and in late June, Fanatics Sportsbook announced it would charge customers 25 cents per wager.
DraftKings and FanDuel will likely cross the 20-million bet threshold in September, and will begin implementing the surcharge Sept. 1. Fanatics could — but has not previously — cross the 20-million bet threshold this year, and did not announce when it would start charging the surcharge.
By imposing a minimum bet, operators will have to pay a lower percentage of the bet to the per-wager tax. It could also help to reduce the total number of bets made on a platform, keeping the operators that may be on the cusp of taking 20 million bets below that number.
Idea was originally DraftKings’
DraftKings first floated the idea of a surcharge in Illinois and other high-tax states in 2024, after the Illinois legislature more than doubled the tax rate for the state’s biggest operators. Gov. JB Pritzker asked the legislature to raise the then-15% flat tax to 35%, but the legislature went beyond, creating a progressive scale from 20-40%.
After the 2024 increase, DraftKings announced a betting surcharge, but did not impose it. Flutter executive Peter Jackson said on the company’s Q3 earnings conference call last year that it would not impose a surcharge, and DraftKings then backed off the surcharge it had announced.
But the latest increase has operators reacting. In essence, DraftKings and FanDuel went from paying the 15% flat tax to a blended rate of 36% in 2024, and then to an estimated 50% starting July 1.
There are 10 digital sports betting platforms live in Illinois. So far, five have taken action to mitigate the latest tax. Circa Sportsbook, the smallest operator in the state, told InGame that it currently has no plans to impose a surcharge.
InGame reached out to the remaining four operators — bet365, BetRivers, Caesars Sportsbook, and ESPN Bet — and did not get a reply from bet365, Caesars Sportsbook, or ESPN Bet. A spokesperson from BetRivers said the company currently has no comment on plans in Illinois.
