After the state of Illinois officially passed a new budget that will tax sportsbook operators 25 cents for each of its first 20 million bets and 50 cents per bet thereafter each, FanDuel has issued an aggressive response.
On Tuesday, FanDuel’s parent company, Flutter Entertainment, announced that it is imposing a 50 cent per bet fee for customers in Illinois, effective Sept. 1, 2025. In a release, the company said that the decision “reflects the significant increase in the cost of operating in Illinois driven by the new Illinois Transaction Fee” and that it will immediately drop the fee should the Prairie State reverse course on the tax.
“It is important to recognize that there is an optimal level for gaming tax rates that enables operators to provide the best experience for customers, maximize market growth and maximize revenue for states over time,” Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said in a statement. “We are disappointed that the Illinois Transaction Fee will disproportionately impact lower wagering recreational customers while also punishing those operators who have invested the most to grow the online regulated market in the state.”
Jackson also noted the potential dangers that Illinois’ new fee could lead to.
“We also believe the introduction of the Illinois Transaction Fee will likely motivate some Illinois-based customers to bet with unregulated operators,” he said. “These operators do not contribute tax revenue to the state, will not collect the newly announced transaction fee and do not offer the same levels of customer protection that regulated operators provide.”
News of FanDuel’s new fee comes a little more than a week after Illinois passed its new state budget. As news of the per bet tax on sportsbooks was first made public last week, The Ringer — which is sponsored by FanDuel — advocated against the transaction fee in a since-deleted social media post, as did Barstool Sports’ Dan “Big Cat” Katz in a video posted to X (Barstool is sponsored by DraftKings and operates an office in Chicago).
Let em know this is BAD.
Fill out the form. Don’t let them take away our gambling —> https://t.co/YAEINaaGE9 pic.twitter.com/UMexPsSinQ
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) May 31, 2025
With FanDuel having announced its plans to combat the tax with a 50 cent per bet fee for customers, it seems like it’s only a matter of time until other sportsbooks follow suit. And if that’s the case, it will be worth monitoring whether the public backlash results in Illinois changing its approach, with FanDuel having already signaled its willingness to drop its fee the moment that it does.
