Illinois Casinos Closing In On $500 Million In Revenue In 2023

2023 is proving to be a comeback year for casinos in Illinois, with the state’s 12 land-based casinos generating nearly $487 million in combined adjusted gross revenue from January to April. This is the highest revenue seen since 2014.

Revenue has seen a 15% year-over-year increase from 2022’s AGR of over $423 million, and has risen by 12% since the four-month total of over $433 million in 2019, the latest year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Expectations for a recovery from the difficulties of the pandemic were high, but the April data released by the Illinois Gaming Board today show that the industry is in a much better state than it has been in years.

Illinois casinos produced $100 million in total taxes

What does this mean for Illinois residents? Strong tax revenue.

The casino taxes collected in the first four months of 2023 amounted to just under $100 million, marking the highest total since 2019 when slightly over $100 million was collected during the same period.

The state accounted for nearly $72 million in taxes up until April, with the local share coming in at close to $28 million.

The casino attendance in 2023 has peaked at nearly 3.4 million, marking the highest level in five years. This surpasses the record set in the first four months of 2018 when just over 3.5 million visitors frequented Illinois casinos.

How the newest Illinois casino is doing

The marginal increase in this year’s data can be credited to Illinois’ expansion of casinos, now totaling 12 compared to 11 last year and 10 in the previous nine years.

The newest casino in Waukegan, The Temporary, opened on Feb. 17, making it the latest addition to the state’s gambling scene.

During the first 10 weeks of operation, the Temporary generated an adjusted gross revenue of just over $17 million. As of April, it has had 164,799 admissions.

The Rivers Casino, the biggest gambling venue in the state, outperformed other establishments with a revenue of over $71.3 million and nearly 1 million visitors in 2023.

Comeback year putting the pandemic years in the rearview mirror

The closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 posed major challenges for Illinois casinos, leading to significant hardship.

During the early stages of the pandemic, from March to April 2020, gross revenue surpassed $250.5 million. Illinois casinos closed on March 16, 2020, in accordance with health regulations. As a result, there was a 94% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Revenue in the first four months of 2021 surpassed $317.5 million, marking a significant increase from the previous year when it peaked at over $423 million.

The admission figures show the same situation.

There has been a 79% increase in casino admissions, reaching almost 3.4 million in 2023 compared to 1.9 million in 2021.

Illinois sports betting also surging

Illinois sportsbooks are doing quite well. As of February, the most recent data on Illinois sports betting shows that the state brought in a handle of $875.4 million, ranking second in the United States. Only New York surpassed Illinois with $1.47 billion. Illinois is ahead of New Jersey ($847.4 million), Nevada ($659.4 million), and Ohio ($639.8 million).

In the months leading up to February, Illinois had surpassed $1 billion in handle for four consecutive months, joining New York, New Jersey, and Nevada as the fourth state to achieve this milestone.

Illinois sportsbooks fell short of reaching $1 billion in sports betting handle for the first time in five months primarily due to limited football betting options.