By Jim Dey
The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
(TNS)
Losing bet?
Are Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s tax hikes on sports wagering creating a potential problem for the state?
On one hand, the answer is no. The Illinois Gaming Board reports the state’s sports handle for February was $1.17 billion, an increase of 1.5 percent over February 2025.
On the other hand, while the sports handle went up, the number of people placing bets declined big time.
The state’s 10 sportsbooks in February accepted 20.6 million wagers, down 25 percent from February 2025.
Desperate for new revenue, Pritzker and legislators passed the 2025-26 budget, which included a new per-wager tax on online sportsbooks. The state charges 25 cents on each of the first 20 million online bets and 50 cents per bet thereafter. The governor estimated it would raise more than $36 million.
The industry considers the tax to be an “albatross” on its back, and friendly legislators are seeking to repeal it. But that legislation will go nowhere as long as the state remains in dire financial straits.
Illinois ranks high among states where sports wagering is legal.
The February report shows Illinois trailed only New York in the size of its sports handle. New York’s handle exceeded $2 billion, while Illinois’ was $1.17 billion.
Eight other states reported numbers ranging from $515 million (Maryland) to $846 million (New Jersey).
Industry taxation concerns stem from the fear that those wagering on sports will go outside of Illinois to place their bets or use the illegal market.
But state officials have dismissed those concerns.
Pritzker proposed roughly $600 million in tax hikes in his recent 2026-27 budget proposal. It includes increasing the tax rate on table games at casinos outside Chicago from the current 15-20 percent to 50 percent. The governor estimated it would raise an additional $120 million.
In or out
A federal education scholarship program is popular with voters. At least it is if results from the March primary election mean anything.
The Illinois Policy Institute reports that “64 percent of voters in 33 jurisdictions support” the state opting into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program.
The proposal was included in recent federal tax legislation. So far, states that tend to vote Republican have shown much more enthusiasm to participate than those that tend to vote Democrat.
Pritzker, a Democrat, has said he has not made up his mind whether to support the proposal. But it’s vehemently opposed by teachers’ unions, who have great influence on the governor’s decisions.
The program allows taxpayers to donate to “eligible K-12 scholarship-granting organizations in exchange for a federal tax credit of up to $1,700,” IPI said.
The organizations then provide scholarship money to eligible K-12 students.
It operates along the same lines as the now-defunct Illinois “Invest in Kids” program that Pritzker and super-majority Democrats terminated.
Under federal law, Illinois taxpayers still can get the tax credit even if the state doesn’t opt in. But their donations will go to children in other states.
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© 2026 The News-Gazette (Champaign, Ill.). Visit www.news-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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