For the first time in three years, the sports betting industry looks like it can breathe easy when it comes to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget. This time, it is casino operators who may have to write bigger checks to the state.
Pritzker unveiled his $57 billion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2027 last Wednesday. The total is a modest 1.6% increase from the previous year. One of the more notable ways the governor plans on raising $589 million in new tax revenue is by aligning tax rates on table games to those of slot machines across the state’s 17 casinos.
The other notable proposal in the budget is to merge the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) and Illinois Racing Board (IRB) into a new Department of Gaming Regulation and Enforcement.
