Last year, Illinois added a new tax to help the horse racing industry. The tax required Chicago-area casinos that make over $200 million a year to remit 3% of their gross revenues to a fund benefiting Illinois’ nine horse racing tracks.
However, the law exempted five southern Illinois casinos, and Will County Judge Bobbi Petrungaro found that the law didn’t pass muster. For the law to have been legal, all Illinois casinos would have had to pay the tax.
The lawsuit was brought by the four Chicago area riverboat casinos. The Illinois Attorney General has not decided whether to appeal the ruling.