Illinois Gov Reports $1.4 Million in Gambling Income

According to partial tax documents released by Governor JB Pritzker’s campaign, the Illinois governor made over $1.4 million in gambling winnings, which he chalks up to a hot streak playing blackjack at a Las Vegas casino.

Blackjack Ace

Governor JB Pritzker is heir to the Hyatt Hotel chain and is worth an estimated $3.7 billion. Therefore, the more than $1.4 million he made playing blackjack is a relative drop in the bucket for him. He later stated he donated his winnings to charity.

“I went on vacation with my wife and with some friends; I was incredibly lucky. You have to be to end up ahead, frankly, going to a casino anywhere,” Pritzker joked. “It was in Las Vegas, and I like to play cards.”

The investment trusts with which he is affiliated were not part of the revealed tax filings, but he and his wife did earn more than $10.3 million, paying approximately $1.6 million in federal taxes and $512,000 in state taxes for 2024.

Pritzker, like his archenemy, President Trump, does not take a yearly salary for his government service job.

Pritzker’s family trusts collectively paid more than $34 million in federal and state taxes last year, but details of the filings were not made public. Although Pritzker donated his Vegas gambling income to charitable causes, it is nothing new for him and his family, after donating $3.3 million to charitable causes last year.

Illinois Continuing to Target Mobile Sportsbooks

Illinois not only raised taxes last year but then added an unprecedented transaction fee on every bet taken. Effective July 1, 2025, sportsbooks began charging sports betting operators 25 cents per bet for the first 20 million wagers and 50 cents thereafter through each fiscal year.

Only Tennessee assesses a per-bet charge, but that is in place of taxes on revenues. Illinois does both, which makes it one of the most expensive states for sports betting platforms to operate in the nation. However, the juice is apparently worth the squeeze, as it is the No. 2-ranked market in the nation, trailing only New York in handle and revenue.

However, sportsbooks have not been happy with the tax increases and now the per-bet fee, and FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics have shown their displeasure by passing the transaction tax onto their customers. Others, like Circa Sports, have raised their minimum bet to $10, the highest minimum in the state.

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.”

The sportsbooks have vowed to rescind the per-bet tax when the legislature does the same.