- The Illinois Gaming Board awarded bet365 a sports betting license
- The operator will launch sometime in 2025
- Its partnership will be with Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort
Illinois is ready to welcome bet365 into the sports betting fold.
Last week the Illinois Gaming Board approved the British operator’s sports betting license application, which will be the 10th online sports betting platform in the Prairie State when it launches next year.
The online sports betting operator enters the state through a partnership with Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort.
Newest State for bet365
When the British gaming operator launches in Illinois in 2025 it will be the 12th live state for the platform. Bet365 currently operates in the following states:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
The operator was late to the game entering the United States, but has since made a relatively surprising impact on the sports betting market. It consistently operates in the top-three of sportsbooks in the highly competitive Ohio sports betting market. In October, bet365 users bet more than $72.2 million online with the sportsbook, which led to more than $6.1 million in taxable revenue for the month.
It lagged only behind FanDuel and DraftKings in the Buckeye State in terms of handle and taxable revenue for the month.
Bet365 will be the 10th live online sports betting operator in the state when it launches. It will join the following operators:
- BetMGM
- BetRivers
- Caesars Sportsbook
- Circa Sports
- DraftKings
- ESPN Bet
- Fanatics Sportsbook
- FanDuel
- Hard Rock Bet
Joining New Tax Structure
Bet365 is launching in Illinois and will be subjected to the state’s new sports betting tax rate structure, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) approved when he signed the Illinois FY 2025 budget into law earlier this year.
The state budget included the first-ever progressive tax rate for sports betting operators in the country, which will see sportsbooks pay a rate of 20% to 40% based on adjusted gross revenues. The new tax rate went into effect on July 1, 2024. Financial analysts projected the progressive tax rate will bring nearly $200 million more in revenue to the state.
Based on the new structure, operators have to pay taxes based on the following adjusted gross sports betting revenue totals:
- $0 to $30 million: 20%
- $30 million to $50 million: 25%
- $50 million to $100 million: 30%
- $100 million to $200 million: 35%
- Over $200 million: 40%
Operators are also required to pay separate taxes based on the sliding scale for both retail and online sportsbooks.
When the state approved sports betting it taxed operators at a flat rate of 15% of gross gaming revenues.
The post Illinois Set to Welcome bet365 into Sports Betting Market appeared first on Sports Betting Dime.
