In a significant legislative move, the Illinois Senate passed a bill late Sunday night that aims to transform the state’s sports betting tax structure into a progressive system based on operator revenue. The changes are set to begin with Fiscal Year 2025 on July 1.
The bill, HB 4951, passed by a margin of 37-22, included a critical amendment from its original Saturday proposal. According to this amendment, mobile and retail sports betting revenue will be taxed at the same progressive rates, but they will be treated as separate entities for taxation purposes.
This modification can be seen as advantageous for major operators like FanDuel and DraftKings, according to SportsHandle. Among the eight mobile operators in the state, these two are most likely to surpass the $200 million adjusted gross revenue threshold that would incur the highest tax rate of 40%.
The new progressive tax structure includes several tiers: the first $30 million in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) will be taxed at 20%; the next $20 million at 25%; revenue between $50 million and $100 million will be taxed at 30%; revenue …