Illinois lawmaker files bill to repeal state's prediction market tax
An Illinois lawmaker filed legislation to repeal the state's tax on prediction market transactions. Republican Rep. Travis Weaver introduced House Bill 5811 this month to eliminate the levy on exchange wagers that was approved as part of the new state budget. The tax applies to trades on regulated event-contract platforms operating in Illinois. The repeal effort comes as prediction market operators expand state-level lobbying to reduce friction for retail traders.
The repeal fight tests whether prediction market operators can unwind a tax before it becomes entrenched in state budgets. Kalshi, Polymarket, and Robinhood now face a spreading patchwork of state levies that directly raises retail trading costs and shrinks margins. Weaver's bill offers a model for red-state allies to copy if it gathers support, but Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker signed the original tax only months earlier and controls the veto pen.
Lobbying spend will spike in Springfield as platforms try to block the precedent before other states replicate it in their 2027 budget cycles. A failed repeal here signals that event-contract taxes are durable revenue tools, not one-off experiments. Traders bear the cost either way.