BetRivers increased its minimum sports bet in Illinois to $5 from the $1 it debuted at before the football season.
Parent company Rush Street Interactive confirmed the increase to $5 to LSR, but did not respond when asked when or why BetRivers made the change.
The state began charging a 25-cent fee for every online sports bet placed in Illinois on July 1. Operators chose to either pass the cost to bettors or raise their minimum sports bet.
Another tax increase went live Jan. 1. The city of Chicago‘s 2026 budget included a 10.25% tax on adjusted revenue.
BetRivers sees largest drop in bets
The per-bet fee led to a substantial drop in bets placed for September (down 15% to 30.6 million) and October (down 16% to 34.3 million), the only two months of NFL betting reported by Illinois so far.
Since July, the fee raised $36.2 million in additional tax revenue despite total sports betting tickets falling 10% over that period.
BetRivers has seen the biggest decline so far, with total bets down 32% to 2.8 million.
The brand now has the second-highest minimum in the state, trailing only Circa‘s $10 minimum.
CEO: Flexible in approach to fee
Rush Street Interactive CEO Richard Schwartz said on the company’s second quarter earnings call that the minimum bet was raised to $1, but noted that could change.
“And then on Illinois, just in terms of the strategy there so far, we haven’t shared plans yet on exactly what we plan to do,” Schwartz said. “We’re trying to make sure that 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. So 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.”
BetRivers is concerned with online casino first but has continued to polish its sports betting product, focusing on the “fundamentals” in 2025 including live betting and navigation.
