The floor for online sports wagering in the Land of Lincoln keeps inching up.
- ESPN BET raised its minimum wager in Illinois to $1 (from 10 cents) starting Aug. 8, aligning with other operators adjusting to the state's new per-bet tax.
- The tax, effective since July, charges online sportsbooks 25–50 cents per bet, prompting some operators to impose transaction fees.
- This move may help ESPN BET attract customers preferring higher minimums over transaction fees, especially during football season.
ESPN BET is the latest online sports betting operator in Illinois to adjust its wagering requirements in the state, increasing the minimum bet for users to $1 from 10 cents.
The change was effective Aug. 8, according to ESPN BET’s house rules for Illinois sports betting.
Covers asked ESPN BET’s owner, PENN Entertainment, for comment on the new minimum wagering requirement but did not hear back before this story was published.
At any rate, ESPN BET’s decision to increase its minimum online bet in Illinois to $1 from 10 cents follows similar decisions by other operators in the state. Those moves are in response to the new per-bet tax in the state that began being applied in July.
Just as an FYI: the new Illinois tax on online sports bets applies to a push. So, come this fall, there's a non-zero chance you push on a wager in IL and still lose 25-50 cents. That's because of the transaction fee you'll be charged by DK, FD, or Fanatics due to the per-bet tax. pic.twitter.com/MYnbeWTRlq
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) July 3, 2025
The per-bet tax, passed by Illinois lawmakers earlier this year, requires online sports betting operators to pay 25 cents per bet for their first 20 million wagers in a year. After that, operators must pay 50 cents.
In response, DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel intend to charge users a 25-cent or 50-cent "transaction fee" for all bets. Meanwhile, BetRivers, BetMGM, and Hard Rock Bet have increased their minimum wagering requirements, as ESPN BET has done. Covers has a full breakdown of the various measures here.
The different answers by operators to the new Illinois sports betting tax could present challenges in acquiring and keeping customers, but also offer an opportunity for the books to differentiate themselves.
For example, a bettor who prefers a minimum wagering requirement to a transaction fee could shop around, and adjust their online sportsbook choice accordingly.
Crisitunity!
ESPN BET opting for a relatively lighter response to the per-bet tax could provide an opportunity to add some customers and market share in Illinois during the uber-important football season.
The PENN Entertainment-owned operator is striving to show investors it can be profitable. This has become especially important given PENN's costly partnership with ESPN, which could be scuttled a year from now if financial results do not meet expectations.
“As I said on our Q1 call, we are nearing an inflection point with our digital business, and we anticipate each quarter of 2025 delivering a lower loss sequentially throughout the year, and our interactive division to be profitable in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the full year of 2026, and beyond,” PENN CEO Jay Snowden said during his company’s earnings call last week. “This is still the case. The significant investments in interactive are undoubtedly behind us.”
Another subplot of the Illinois per-bet tax is the taxability of the transaction fee-related revenue that operators could earn. There appears to be some difference in opinion among operators on whether that fee revenue will be taxable, but the Illinois Gaming Board has suggested that will be the case.
