Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) has released an update after announcing it would sue the city of Chicago over a new tax on sports betting and licensing plan.
The lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court and sought to block the city from enforcing an ordinance that would introduce a 10.25% tax on online sports betting and require operators to obtain municipal licenses starting in 2026.
However, the SBA has now announced that it has filed a notice of withdrawal of its TRO (temporary restraining order) request, but has stated that its complaint regarding the constitutionality of Chicago’s proposed tax will continue to be considered on the merits in court.
Today we filed a notice of withdrawal of our TRO petition in our case against the City of Chicago. That said, our complaint regarding the constitutionality of Chicago’s proposed tax will continue to be examined on the merits in court.
Statement below: pic.twitter.com/NNShk5YcHe
– Sports Betting Alliance (@SBAllianceUS) December 31, 2025
The full statement reads: “We are pleased to see that the City of Chicago acted quickly yesterday to maintain operations of legal platforms that provide customer protections not available in the illegal market. Given these developments, there was no longer a need for an expedited TRO.
“The SBA will nevertheless continue to pursue the invalidity and unconstitutionality of the City’s recently adopted licensing and tax ordinances in court. Chicago sports fans will continue to enjoy the benefits of legal and regulated sports betting without interruption until the new year.”
Chicago proposed a major sports betting tax increase in its recent budget
The ASB announcements came after the the city presented its new budgetthe sports betting tax hike applying to online and mobile bets verified as being placed in Chicago.
It’s estimated the tax could raise at least $26 million annually, which would help support the city’s overall $16.6 billion spending plan.
Once the news was released, the SBA also made clear that it opposed the city’s plan to require operators to obtain municipal licenses, arguing that Chicago did not have a viable licensing system in place. The complaint said the city “has failed to timely implement the licensing system it now purports to require through the ordinance.”
Featured Image: Credit to Chris Rycroft, CC 2.0 license
The position Sports Betting Alliance Withdraws Request for Temporary Restraining Order, Continues Legal Challenge Against Chicago Tax appeared first on ReadWrite.
