Trade group says Illinois tax diminished betting activity, empowered black market

• SBA warns about an outflow of sports bettors and total wagers in Illinois due to a recently introduced tax
• The tax has made it harder for operators to run a business, leading to fees payable by patrons on every bet they place
• This has seen the total number of bets in September reduced by 5m, a considerable number pointing to heightened black-market operations

The Sports Betting Alliance of Illinois has sounded an alarm over the newly introduced per-wager tax that the trade group believes has diminished betting activity in the state and has possibly driven gamblers to offshore operators.

SBA warns that a dip in sports betting in Illinois sign of illegal gambling

Based on results provided by the Illinois Gaming Board’s September Sports Wagering Report, there were 5m fewer bets in the state following the implementation of the tax. This, the SBA said, was a dramatic decrease and pointed to serious long-term implications for the state. This is equal to a 15% dip in betting activity, the trade body explained.

SBA spokeswoman Maura Possley highlighted the issue and the possible trend that is unfolding in Illinois as such:

"The Illinois Gaming Board data released today is astounding. Illinois sports fans are fleeing the legal betting market in favor of the cheaper illegal and unregulated options – and the regulated legal market is paying the price."

"While legal markets all across the country are growing, the Illinois market is shrinking thanks to the state’s recent tax hike. This data is a warning sign for Chicago, Illinois, and other state policy makers that over-taxing legal betting will have profound negative ramifications for the sustainability of the legal market and future tax revenues for state coffers," Possley added.

Possley and the SBA maintain that, faced with stiff taxes, many patrons are most likely now to leave for offshore platforms, which are still available in the local market despite prohibitions on operating.

However, the SBA warns that these websites are hardly safe as they compromise their players’ personal and financial information and have no obligation to honor payouts.

Regulated market to increasingly struggle to stay competitive

Worse still, argues the SBA, because the offshore market offers are oftencheaper and offer better odds, they undermine the operational capabilities of the regulated market.

The per-wager tax increase is supposed to boost the tax revenue payable to the state from the regulated sports betting sector, but given the exodus of bettors and the reduced activity in the state, the opposite effect will most likely be achieved.

Sportsbooks have already introduced fees for every wager placed as they see it as the only way to maintain their operational capability while offering worse odds to their customers, driving business away, the SBA adds.

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