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

Thus far, 2023 is shaping up to be a resurgence year for casinos in Illinois. From the start of the year through April, the combined adjusted gross revenue produced by the state’s 12 land-based casinos has reached close to $487 million. This marks the highest revenue since 2014.

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

It was anticipated that there would be a recovery from the challenging years of the pandemic. However, the April figures released today by the Illinois Gaming Board indicate that the industry is in a healthier state than it has been for a long time.

Illinois casinos produced $100 million in total taxes

What does this imply for Illinois residents? Robust tax revenue.

Casino taxes for the first four months of 2023, totaling just under $100 million, are the highest since 2019, which saw just over $100 million for the same period.

Up until April, nearly $72 million in taxes was accounted for by the state, while the local share was close to $28 million.

The attendance at casinos in 2023, which is nearly 3.4 million, has reached its highest level in five years. This is the best record since the first four months of 2018 when just over 3.5 million people visited a casino in Illinois.

How the newest Illinois casino is doing

The slight improvement in this year’s figures can be attributed to the fact that Illinois now has 12 casinos, up from 11 last year and 10 in the nine years preceding that.

The Temporary, the latest casino in the state, located in Waukegan, opened its doors on Feb. 17.

In the initial 10 weeks of operation, the Temporary generated an adjusted gross revenue slightly over $17 million. Up until April, it has had 164,799 admissions.

Compared to other establishments, the Rivers Casino, which is the largest gambling parlour in the state, recorded a revenue exceeding $71.3 million and close to 1 million attendees in 2023.

Comeback year putting the pandemic years in the rearview mirror

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 caused significant hardship for Illinois casinos due to closures.

In the initial stages of the pandemic, up until April 2020, the gross revenue exceeded $250.5 million. It’s noteworthy that Illinois casinos were shut down on March 16, 2020, due to health guidelines. Therefore, this indicates a 94% increase in this year’s revenue compared to 2020.

In the first four months of 2021, revenue exceeded $317.5 million and then bounced back to over $423 million the previous year.

The admission numbers depict the same scenario.

Casino admissions have surged by 79% to nearly 3.4 million in 2023, up from 1.9 million in 2021.

Illinois sports betting also surging

Illinois sportsbooks are also faring well. The most recent data on Illinois sports betting, available up to February, reveals that the state generated a handle of $875.4 million during that period. This puts Illinois second in the United States, only surpassed by New York with $1.47 billion. However, it leads New Jersey ($847.4 million), Nevada ($659.4 million), and Ohio ($639.8 million).

Before February, Illinois had experienced a consecutive four-month streak of over $1 billion in handle each month. This achievement made Illinois the fourth state, following New York, New Jersey, and Nevada, to record four successive months of billion-dollar handle.

The failure of Illinois sportsbooks to reach $1 billion in sports betting handle for the first time in five months is largely attributed to the lack of football betting opportunities.