Caesars Announces 25 Cent Transaction Fee in Illinois

Caesars is the latest sportsbook to announce a transaction fee on any wagers in Illinois as a response to the legislature’s recent addition of a 25-cent to 50-cent per wager tax on all licensed sportsbooks operating in Illinois.

Caesars Follows Suit

In response to the Illinois legislature’s per-bet tax, Caesars has responded in much the same way as several competitors have by introducing a transaction fee of 25 cents per wager beginning on September 1st; yet, bonus bets will be free of the transaction fee.

FanDuel was the first to announce a 50-cent per transaction fee in Illinois, followed by industry powerhouse DraftKings. Several smaller companies have also instituted the per-bet tax, with Caesars being the latest to do so.

“The tax is applied on each individual bet made,” Caesars said in an FAQ on its website. “Multi-leg bets like Parlays, Same-Game Parlays, and Round Robins are counted as one bet.”

Other sportsbooks have raised their minimum wager requirements in lieu of imposing a transaction fee, with ESPN Bet and BetRivers hiking their minimum from 10 cents to $1.00, while Hard Rock Bet has raised its minimum from 10 cents to $2 per wager.

BetMGM has announced its 10-cent minimum is being replaced by a minimum of $2.50 per bet. Meanwhile, Circa Sports has announced that its $1 minimum will now be $10. Virtually all of the sportsbooks that have added the transaction fee have promised to rescind it should the legislature do the same.

Reflexive Response

The Illinois legislature continues to find new ingenious ways to reap further tax revenue from the sportsbooks operating in its market. After raising taxes on revenue two years ago, the legislature decided to impose a 25-cent to 50-cent per wager fee on all sportsbooks, which began on July 1, 2025.

Sportsbooks accepting 20 million or fewer bets would incur a 25-cent per wager tax, while those accepting more than 20 million wagers would be obligated to pay 50 cents per bet after that. Naturally, the backlash from sportsbooks and industry trade groups was predictably fierce.

Industry Backlash

The Sports Betting Alliance, comprised of FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Fanatics, released the following statement following the per-bet fee: “For the second consecutive year, the Illinois legislature chose to balance its budget with a crippling tax on legal online sports betting operators and their million-plus Illinois customers — this time with no warning and no consideration of the devastating impact this tax would have on the legal market.”

Moreover, the graduated tax previously levied, coupled with the staggered schedule of transaction fees, would impact the most popular sportsbooks the most severely, placing a higher tax burden on industry leaders like FanDuel and DraftKings.

Citizens JMP Securities analyst Jordan Bender wrote last year, “The graduated structure [in Illinois] changes that equation where the top companies can’t structurally gain a strategic foothold in tougher regulatory environments, creating a more even playing field when it comes to the tax environment. In terms of market size, we would expect growth to be impaired by the lack of investment.”