New York has 51%, so the 49% rate for Illinois is nothing new.

That being said we'd probably see a decrease in promotions in sportsbooks that would reach the highest bracket. Something will have to give for them to make up for that increase.

At present, sportsbooks are paying 15% tax. Increasing it to 20% to 40%, depending on the bracket, will hurt DraftKings, FanDuel, and other big players in the state. 

Yeah that will hurt their ability to dish out good promos. We'll see that decline over time when they hit the higher brackets.

On the plus side, independent bookies can compete with them.  

This is Illinois, they can take the hit. They're a pretty large market. And not all sportsbooks will get hit with the maximum tax anyway.

Since the sports betting market launched, the state has collected about $15.34 million in taxes. It is third behind New York and New Jersey in all-time sports betting revenue.

You know what they say: bookies always win. The good news is that the sports betting handle is up in August. That means even independent bookies profited during that month in Illinois. Also, August was the second month of implementing new tax rules in the state.   

I would like to wait to see how the taxation will go this winter. Its peak betting season with both basketball and football season. If sportsbooks will hit the threshold for a higher tax bracket then it would happen during these months. It would be interesting to see what will happen after they get taxed more.

Illinois collected $37.3 million in taxes on sports betting in September. Revenue jumped 168.3% compared to the previous year. Insiders attributed the increase to the new tax rules.