When Illinois legislators voted to increase the tax rate that sportsbooks will pay in that state from 15% to as much as 40% earlier this month, the lobbyist whose group lost that fight turned his attention to future battlegrounds.

States facing budget shortfalls almost certainly will be in play, especially those in which Democrats control the legislature. Any of the 18 states with tax rates of less than 20% on online sports betting will bear watching.

It is a push that has been building since the start of 2022, when New York regulators were able to get nine sportsbooks, including what were then the top six, to sign up for licenses despite a 51% tax rate that they said would make profitability unlikely, if not impossible.

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