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When it comes to Illinois sports betting news, things have been pretty strong over the past year. Illinois continues to be one of the top states in terms of its sports betting handle each month, which has been fantastic to see. However, some new changes could be on the way for the project and not everyone seems to be on board. That’s because the Illinois Governor is under fire for a new sports betting proposal – it’s easy to see why.
According to a report, Governor JB Pritzker is asking for the sports betting tax to be increased to 35 percent. This would be a major jump and not that any of the top-rated sportsbooks are fans of it. This would obviously result in more tax revenue for the state, but sportsbooks don’t think they should have to pay such a high fee. This is an ongoing conversation, but people surely are split on how to handle this. Pritzker wants to see this get done, though.
Pritzker is not going to back down from this, as he has a strong belief that if sportsbooks want to have the privilege of being able to operate in Illinois, then they should have no issues paying the raised tax. Owners of sportsbooks are pushing back, however, and they’re hoping that some sort of an agreement can be reached. This will of course have a massive impact on the operations of online sports betting too.
Only time will tell what will end up happening here, but before this update arrives, there were few to no issues with sports betting in Illinois as a whole. Things won’t get done here overnight, but it’s clear that Pritzker and members of his team want to see this tax spike be recorded by the time 2025 gets here. Again, the sportsbooks will push to prevent that from happening, but things feel a bit unknown in this case.
Illinois is gearing up for massive March Madness numbers
Looking ahead to the next few weeks, Illinois is gearing up for massive March Madness numbers. This is the best time of the year for a lot of bettors and things are only going to be on the rise thanks to the amazing season the Illinois Fighting Illini are having. As things stand, the University of Illinois men’s basketball team is ranked the No. 12 team in the country and they’re ready to push for a conference title.
Illinois is 22-7 on the year and in second place in the Big Ten conference. With the Big Ten tournament right around the corner, Illinois has a great chance to try and improve its seeding for the Big Dance. Illinois is a lock for March Madness and they’re hoping to make a ton of noise. Will they be able to somehow grab a No. 1 seed? It’s going to be tough, but the close of the regular season and the Big Ten tournament will determine just how high they can climb.
No. 1️⃣2️⃣#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/w90FGXY50G
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 4, 2024
“I can’t lie, it felt good,” Marcus Domask said recently after taking down Wisconsin. “A lot of people here who hadn’t seen me play since high school that watched me growing up. There was probably two, three hundred people here. there were a lot of people that put on an Illinois shirt for the first time today. They told me that they loved it, loved the game, but they’re never putting it on again. That’s part of growing up in Wisconsin.”
Soon enough, we’ll see how Domask and the rest of his teammates are able to perform under the bright lights of the NCAA tournament, but we have a feeling they’ll be able to go on a deep run. Should that happen, it’d of course be great for the NCAAB betting numbers that are about to come on. This could prove to be a memorable season for the Fighting Illini and as a result, it should do wonders for the betting handle as well.
Cubs betting is going to be sky-high for Illinois
As for baseball action, Cubs betting is going to be sky-high for Illinois. Yes, sportsbooks are worried about a possible tax hike coming before the end of the year, but they should be able to rest knowing that MLB betting is always sweet in Illinois and the 2024 season should be no different. This season, there are huge expectations for the Cubbies.
Play ball! pic.twitter.com/OICFVSJraC
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 4, 2024
Chicago has been in a bit of a rebuild in recent seasons. That’s been the case since Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javy Baez were all traded. Those three players played a massive role in the team winning the World Series not too long ago. Now, though, they’re all on different clubs.
Despite that, people in Chicago continue to look to the future for this team, as there are a lot of talented prospects within the system. The Cubs are hoping to make a splash in the NL Central this year and we have a feeling they’ll be able to do just that. The more games they win, the more enticed people will be to place bets on them too.
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