Overview
- The Sports Betting Alliance filed in Cook County Circuit Court for a temporary restraining order to stop Chicago from enforcing a new tax and city licensing requirement set to begin Thursday.
- Chicago’s 2026 budget adds a 10.25% levy on adjusted gross receipts from bets placed within city limits and creates a local license, with filings citing $50,000 for the first year and $25,000 for renewal.
- As of Tuesday, the city had issued no licenses, forcing operators to choose between operating without a city license or suspending access for Chicago users on Jan. 1.
- The complaint argues the ordinance is unconstitutional under Illinois’ home-rule limits and warns a shutdown could drive bettors to illegal markets and cut existing state tax revenue.
- State legislators have proposed measures to prohibit local sports-betting taxes or fees, but the General Assembly is not scheduled to reconvene until mid-January.