A bill filed in the New Jersey state legislature proposes to more than double the operator tax rate on internet sports betting revenue to 30%.

State Sen. John McKeon’s bill, S 3064, would also double the internet casino operator tax to 30%. New Jersey is the pioneering state of American sports betting, with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the state in the Murphy vs. NCAA case that overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in May 2018 clearing the way for sports betting to expand in the U.S. beyond Nevada. The Garden State currently imposes an 8.5% tax on retail adjusted gross sports betting revenue and a 13% levy on AGR derived from sports betting apps.

McKeon’s bill continues a recent trend in which states have either increased their tax rates or made proposals to do so. Gov. Mike DeWine doubled the tax rate to 20% in Ohio last July, a move viewed as punitive in some circles because of the relentless barrage of advertising from sportsbooks on television and radio in the Buckeye State. Ohio collected $79.2 million in state taxes the first six months after the rate doubled compared to $57.6 million at the 10% rate from January through June 2023.

Gov. JB Pritzker proposed more than doubling the tax rate in Illinois to 35% in his “State of the State” address last month as part of his $52.7 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2025. His budget proposal estimates $200 million in additional tax revenue in raising the rate from its current 15%. Illinois operators generated $1 billion in AGR in 2023, resulting in $150.3 million worth of state taxes.

McKeon’s bill comes after the Garden State received a record $128.9 million in taxes from sports betting in the 2023 calendar year as operators reported $1.01 billion in adjusted gross revenue. Through the first two months of 2024, New Jersey is on pace to blow past that mark as state taxes from sports betting have already totaled $31.3 million.

That increased pace has come partly due to the shift in sports betting more toward parlay wagering, and more specifically, same-game parlay wagering. Operator holds on those bets usually range between two and three times higher than the overall hold, generating more revenue for sportsbooks and more tax revenue for the state.

New Jersey operators generated nearly $763 million in revenue in 2022 from $10.94 billion handle, resulting in a hold just shy of the 7% industry standard. Revenue surged 31.9% higher in 2023 and outpaced the 9.4% increase in handle to $11.97 billion because the 8.4% operator win rate was 20.7% higher.

New Jersey has generated $457 million in state taxes from sports betting since launch in May 2018. That ranks third all-time behind New York ($1.74 billion) and Pennsylvania ($538 million).

Both of those states have notably higher tax rates for mobile sports betting, with the Empire State keeping 51% of the AGR from its nine digital operators. The Keystone State has a 36% rate, with all but 2% going directly to the state. Pennsylvania’s tax rate, though, is somewhat softened because mobile operators are allowed to deduct promotional credits and bonuses against their gross revenue.

Though New Jersey has collected at least $5 million in taxes from sports betting for 20 months running, the only time it has topped $20 million came in January. The average monthly tax bill has come to $10.9 million in that span.

In contrast, state tax receipts from internet casino gaming have surpassed $20 million for 18 consecutive months, including $25 million each of the last five months. New Jersey received $288.5 million in tax revenue for internet casino gaming in 2023 and $1.17 billion overall since its launch in November 2013.