Overview
- The Sports Betting Alliance filed complaints in Cook County Circuit Court’s chancery division and sought a temporary restraining order to stop enforcement of Chicago’s tax and licensing scheme.
- The lawsuit argues the Illinois Constitution reserves licensing for revenue and income-based taxation to the state unless expressly delegated, which it says has not occurred.
- With no city licenses issued, operators say they must either shut down service in Chicago on Jan. 1 or operate in violation of the ordinance, risking consumer migration to illegal markets.
- Chicago’s budget imposes a 10.25% levy on adjusted gross receipts from bets placed in the city and establishes a $50,000 first-year license with a $25,000 renewal fee.
- State lawmakers have filed measures to bar local wagering taxes or claw back equivalent state funds, but the General Assembly does not reconvene to act until Jan. 14.