Illinois budget adds taxes on prediction markets, digital ads, crypto
Illinois will impose taxes on prediction markets, digital advertising, social media platforms, and cryptocurrency under a nearly $56 billion budget. The measure, reported by Law360 on June 16, 2026, groups prediction markets with digital assets and online platforms as new revenue sources for the state.
State-level tax regime explicitly targeting prediction market revenue, creating a compliance template that other deficit-facing states may copy and adding a direct cost line for operators serving Illinois users.
Brings the count of states targeting prediction market revenue through taxes or felony bans to four — Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, and now Illinois — as Kalshi and Polymarket face simultaneous CFTC-backed preemption lawsuits and state-level tax regimes on opposite sides of the same compliance fight.