Caesars Sportsbook Institutes Illinois Per-Bet Fee

• Caesars Sportsbook is the latest to sportsbook operator to impost a per-bet fee in Illinois
• The sports betting operator will impose a $0.25 fee for every sports bet made by a user
• The new fee will go into effect on Sept. 1, 2025

Caesars Sportsbook will be imposing a $0.25 per-bet fee on Illinois users this September, the latest Prairie State sportsbook to institute a per-bet fee or minimum bet amount for customers.

The sportsbook notified its Illinois users of the changes on Monday, Aug. 25, sending out notices to each registered customer.

Caesars is the latest licensed Illinois sportsbook to either impose a per-bet fee or minimum bet amount to counteract the state’s own per-bet fee that went into effect in July.

Direct Response to State’s Fee System

In its notice to customers, Caesars Sportsbook directly places the reasoning of the new per-bet fee at the hands of the Illinois legislature and its decision to impose a per-bet fee system on operators.

“Following the decision made by the Illinois General Assembly on May 31, 2025, a $0.25 wager tax has been applied to each online sports wager placed in the state of Illinois. Effective Sept. 1, 2025, this $0.25 wager tax will be applied to each online wager placed on Caesars Sportsbook,” the operator informed users in its notice.

Caesars is the ninth sportsbook in the state to address the new per-bet fee and the third to do so in the last two weeks. Circa Sports announced a new $10 minimum bet amount for Illinois sports betting customers last week, while ESPN BET announced a $1 bet minimum on Thursday, Aug. 15.

The state instituted a $0.25 charge on the first 20,000,000 online sports bets taken each year, which 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.

Changes Abound for Illinois Sports Betting

Only one sportsbook in the state, bet365, has yet to make any changes for its Illinois customers.

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, Hard Rock Bet, and BetRivers have also instituted or upped their minimum bet amounts in the state. Hard Rock Bet instituted a $2 minimum bet amount for users, BetMGM instituted a $2.50 minimum bet amount, and BetRivers now requires a $1 minimum bet.