BetMGM, Hard Rock Bet Requiring Illinois Bet Minimums

• Both BetMGM, Hard Rock Bet are imposing bet minimums in Illinois
• BetMGM will require users to bet at least $2.50 per transaction starting Wednesday, July 16
• Hard Rock Bet is requiring a $2 minimum to place a wager in the state

Both BetMGM and Hard Rock Bet will be requiring minimum bet amounts for Illinois sports betting customers moving forward.

BetMGM sent out notices to customers last week informing them that beginning Wednesday, July 16, each bet will require a $2.50 minimum in the Prairie State. Hard Rock Bet has already instituted a $2 minimum bet for customers in the state.

The minimum bet amounts are likely in response to the state’s recently legalized transaction fee for all licensed sports betting operators.

Cost of Business Going Up

Jill R. Dorson of ingame.com was the first to report the minimum bet totals.

A BetMGM spokesperson confirmed the $2.50 minimum bet amount for Illinois customers to Sports Betting Dime. The company, however, had no other comment on the decision.

BetMGM notified Illinois account holders of the decision on Friday, July 11. Each customer received an email notification which read the following:

“Starting Wednesday, July 16, 2025, BetMGM will increase the minimum bet for all wagers to $2.50. The change will be applicable to all wager types – including, but not limited to, straight bets, parlays, Same Game Parlay and round robins. This will also include bonus bets, bonuses, or any tokens having minimum bet requirement of $2.50. Should you have any questions, please reach out to our Customer Care team.”

Hard Rock Bet also instituted its own $2 minimum in Illinois, which is already in effect.

Five licensed operators in the state have now either introduced sports bet transaction fees or bet minimums to counteract lawmakers’ decision to charge a transaction fee for each bet placed in Illinois.

Illinois lawmakers including a new fee of $0.25 or $0.50 in the fiscal year budget for every bet placed with a licensed operator in the state. The new fee, signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), will impose a $0.25 charge on an operator’s first 20,000,000 online sports bets taken in the state each year. The fee will increase to $0.50 per bet for every single bet taken after the initial 20,000,000 bets.

DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics Will All Charge Fees

BetMGM and Hard Rock Bet are the first licensed Illinois operators to institute minimum bet amounts in the state, but three other licensed operators are planning to implement their own transaction fees on customers this year.

Both DraftKings and FanDuel will require a $0.50 fee on every bet placed in the state beginning this fall.

Fanatics Sportsbook is only planning a $0.25 transaction fee for customers, compared with DraftKings and FanDuel’s plan for a $0.50 per bet fee. Fanatics Sportsbook will likely not cross the 20,000,000 bet threshold in the state and will not be subjected to the higher $0.50 fee thereafter.