bet365 Approved for Sports Betting License in Illinois

The Land of Lincoln is about to welcome a new player into its sports betting market.

The Illinois Gaming Board has approved bet365 Sportsbook’s application for one of the state’s operating licenses. The approval was thanks to a partnership with Walker’s Bluff Casino in Carterville, IL. Once launched, bet365 will become the market’s tenth operator. 

The launch approval is the latest in a long line of efforts by bet365 to expand its brand in the US. The platform recently went live in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Once the sportsbook goes live in Illinois, it will be available in the twelfth market. 

bet365’s success in the US makes it one of the few international operators to have succeeded in the market. The operator has expanded slowly over the years and has been snapping up sponsorship deals to help establish the brand as a household name. While it won’t compete with the likes of FanDuel or DraftKings, bet365 seems destined for continued success across the US.

There is no firm date for when the platform will launch.

First New Operator Since Tax Change

Illinois’s 2025 budget included a significant change to its sports betting market. Lawmakers had wanted to raise the tax on operators but faced fierce opposition. Thus, the legislature moved to a tiered tax system, where sportsbooks would be taxed based on their revenue. 

The change hurt FanDuel and DraftKings the most, as their tax rates went from 15% to 40%. The industry leaders threatened to leave the market, which would no longer be worth operating in at a higher rate. While Illinois successfully called its bluff, the operators continued to assert that a higher tax would hurt the market over the long term.

The upcoming launch of bet365 Sportsbook shows that the new tax system isn’t keeping major operators from entering the state, whose market has continued to thrive.