Okay, so let’s dive into this, shall we? You know, Illinois is up to something spicy again with their budget – a cool 25 cents per online sports bet. Oh, but only for the first 20 million bets each year. After that, it jumps to 50 cents. I mean, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s ready to put pen to paper on this one. Not that surprising, right?
Anyway, Truist’s Barry Jonas got a bit blindsided, kinda like last year when Illinois threw a curveball tax at them too. Guess they like keeping us on our toes. This new plan will have their tax rate way up there with the big leagues. Jonas cheekily pointed out that DraftKings and Flutter’s FanDuel will no doubt zoom past that 20 million mark. Higher rates for them, fun times ahead!
Oh, and, the little guys? They might catch a softer punch. But even so, MGM Resorts, you know, the brains behind BetMGM, they saw their shares dip over 2%. And Penn Entertainment, buddying up with ESPN Bet, slipped a wee 0.7%. Stocks, stocks, stocks – they’re such drama queens.
So now, Wall Street’s scratching its head – is Illinois setting a trend? Will other states line up for a slice of this tax pie to patch up their budgets, or what?
Quick snapshot: start of 2024, tax rates on digital sports bets are all over the place. New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island chilling at 51%, while Nevada and Iowa are keeping it low at 6.75%. Out of 27 states and D.C. doing online betting, maybe more will jump on Illinois’ bandwagon. Who knows, right? It’s a wild ride.
