BetRivers Sets New Illinois Minimum Bet Amount in Response to Bet Fees

• During Rush Street Interactive’s Q2 earnings call, it was announced that Illinois customers must bet at least $1 per transaction in the state
• The new minimum is due to the state’s per bet fee instituted earlier this year
• BetRivers is the sixth licensed Illinois sportsbook to address the state’s per bet fee policy

BetRivers has made a move in Illinois to address the state’s per bet fee policy approved in its annual budget.

Rush Street Interactive Chief Financial Officer Kyle Sauers said during the company’s Q2 earning report on Wednesday that BetRivers has instituted a $1 minimum bet amount for users in Illinois moving forward.

BetRivers is the sixth licensed sportsbook in Illinois to directly address the new per bet fees.

Minimum Bet Amount in Direct Response to New Fees

Sauers noted in the call that the decision to institute the $1 minimum in Illinois is to ensure “a great player experience, but also appropriate economics for us.”

“What we have done to date is we’ve moved the minimum bet up to $1 So, that’s the move thus far, but we’re remaining flexible to figure out the right way to approach it as we get towards NFL season,” he said.

BetRivers is now the sixth of 10 total licensed Illinois sportsbook to make a change after state lawmakers included a $0.25 or $0.50 per bet fee for its operators. The state now institutes a $0.25 charge on the first 20,000,000 online sports bets taken each year. The fee increases to $0.50 per bet for every single bet taken after the initial 20,000,000 bets.

Illinois began charging all licensed operators the per bet fee on July 1. According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, the new fee is expected to bring in $36 million annually to the state.

BetRivers will likely stay under the 20,000,000 bet threshold, but operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings will likely eclipse it.

What Other Changes Have Been Made in Illinois?

DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics have all instituted per bet fees for users to counteract the state’s new charge. Fanatics Sportsbooks will begin charging users $0.25 per bet later this year, while DraftKings and FanDuel both announced a $0.50 charge per bet.

BetMGM and Hard Rock Bet also made similar changes to BetRivers, as both books are upping their minimum bet amounts in Illinois. Hard Rock Bet instituted a $2 minimum bet amount for users, while BetMGM instituted a $2.50 minimum bet amount.

Circa Sports revealed to Sports Betting Dime two weeks ago that is does not have any current plans for a betting fee or betting minimum in the state, but will continue to evaluate the market as it moves forward.

“We don’t have any plans at the current moment. We are still evaluating what, if anything, we’d be doing. It’s too early. We are evaluating the market,” Jeffrey Benson, Director of Operations for Circa Sports, told Sports Betting Dime

Caesars Sportsbook, bet365, and ESPN BET are the three remaining sportsbooks that have yet to address the state fees.