Overview
- The Sports Betting Alliance filed a Cook County complaint and requested a temporary restraining order to stop Chicago from enforcing the new tax and municipal licensing rules.
- Chicago’s ordinance, embedded in the 2026 budget, would tax adjusted gross receipts from bets placed within city limits at 10.25% and require new city licenses with fees up to $50,000.
- The complaint says the city had not issued promised licenses by late Dec. 29, forcing operators to choose between shutting off apps for Chicago users on Jan. 1 or operating without a city license.
- Chicago forecast about $26.2 million from the levy, which would sit atop Illinois’ existing progressive 20%–40% tax on sportsbook revenue and a 25¢/50¢ per-wager surcharge.
- State lawmakers have filed measures to prohibit local sports-betting taxes or reduce Chicago’s state distributions by any local take, with the General Assembly set to reconvene in mid-January as the city declined comment.