Rush Street Interactive Responds to Illinois Tax Charge With Minimum Bets for Users

RSI is not the first operator to announce increased bet charges for Illinois residents.

Ziv Chen

Last Updated: August 1, 2025 2:50 PM EDT • 3 minute read

Rush Street Interactive Responds to Illinois Tax Charge With Minimum Bets for Users — Pictured: Chicago White Sox catcher Edgar Quero rounds the bases. Photo by Patrick Gorski via Imagn Images.

Illinois continues to be a tumultuous location for the best sports betting sites.

Operator Rush Street Interactive confirmed on its Q2 earnings call that it had raised minimum bets on its betting platform, BetRivers, in response to the new per-wager tax rate Illinois lawmakers implemented earlier this month.

As part of the earnings call, RSI leaders were questioned about the recent tax increases in the Illinois sports betting, which introduced a charge of 25 cents per wager for online sportsbooks, and New Jersey sports betting markets, which introduced a 19.75% tax hike.

“On Illinois, we haven’t shared plans yet on exactly what we plan to do. We’re trying to make sure we’re blending goals of a great player experience, but also appropriate economics for us. What we have done to date is we’ve moved the minimum bet up to $1. That’s the move thus far, but we’re remaining flexible to figure out the right way to approach it as we get towards NFL season,” RSI Financial Officer, Kyle Saucers, said in response.

Other sportsbook operators respond to Illinois tax hike

RSI is not the first operator to announce increased bet charges for Illinois residents. BetMGM and Hard Rock Bet confirmed to SBC earlier this month that they would also raise bet minimums on their platforms.

BetMGM has raised its price to $2.50, while Hard Rock Bet has increased its price to $2.

In contrast, operators FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics have instead chosen to pass the charge onto their users by charging transaction fees on every bet placed on their platform.

FanDuel and DraftKings confirmed in June that there will now be a 50-cent fee for each bet placed, while Fanatics will charge bettors 25 cents per bet placed.

Rush Street Interactive posts Q2 earnings update

In addition to confirming a minimum bets increase, RSI has announced its Q2 earnings, which saw revenue increase 22% year-on-year to $269.2 million and adjusted EBITDA rise 88% year-on-year to $40.2 million.

Real money online casinos also drove this quarter's growth, with revenue in this sector rising 25% and sports betting revenue growing 15%. Monthly active users increased 30% this quarter, with an average revenue per user of nearly $400.

“I'm excited to report that we've delivered another exceptional quarter with records across the board, marking our 9th consecutive quarter of improving both revenue and adjusted EBITDA from the preceding quarter. Our impressive record Adjusted EBITDA growth of 88% year-over-year was driven by strong, broad-based performance across our business, with online casino revenue growing 25% and online sports betting up 15%.

The consistency and strength of our business model is evident in our results, particularly in North American markets that include online casino, where we saw Monthly Active User growth exceeding 30%. Our strategic focus on markets where we can deploy our full suite of gaming offerings continues to drive exceptional performance and maximize player value,” said Richard Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer of RSI.

Written by:
Ziv Chen

Ziv has over two decades of experience in the igaming and sports betting industry, having served in senior marketing and business development positions with both B2C and B2B companies, including Playtech and Microgaming. In 2019, Ziv decided to pursue his passion for writing and became a fulltime industry journalist, covering casino, sports, and gambling business news. He’s specialties include casino games and technology, US state gambling regulation, company performance, as well as gambling affiliates and marketing. As a Pitt graduate, Ziv is a diehard fan of all Pittsburgh sports teams, with the Steelers at the top of the list. In his free time, he enjoys reading crime fiction, biographies (mainly of sports personalities, but not only) and American history. Ziv’s Favorite quote: “We're going to pursue perfection, knowing full well we won't catch it, but we're going to relentlessly chase it," Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach.