Illinois To Blow Out Candles On Adventurous First Year Of Sports Betting

Although it may feel like a lifetime ago, Tuesday commemorates the first anniversary of legal sports betting in Illinois.

Eddie Olczyk, a retired Chicago Blackhawk, made the first sports wager at Rivers Casino on March 9, 2020.

“Can you believe it’s already been a full season?” said Patrick Eichner, Communications Director at PointsBet.

Indeed, it is. Saying it has been an adventurous journey would even be an understatement.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Illinois casinos to shut down just a week after Olczyk’s initial bet. If there weren’t any online gaming platforms available at the time (which were very limited in terms of sports), sports betting in Illinois would have been non-existent for weeks.

As of that moment, Illinois was the top state in the US with four sports betting markets in operation and more are set to be introduced soon.

So, how did we come across these? Let’s revisit the inaugural year of sports betting in Illinois.

The Illinois activities betting industry was not intended to operate in this manner.

You may remember, Illinois was expected to have a requirement for in-person sports betting registration for the initial 18 months.

In June, Gov. JB Pritzker responded to the challenges of COVID-19 by easing restrictions, thereby enabling online sports betting transactions to be opened.

The issue was that there were no online sportsbooks in Illinois at the time. However, BetRivers rectified this on June 18.

The BetRivers Sportsbook app gained a significant head start over its competitors and capitalized on it, securing an 84% market share in August.

In late July, Pritzker surprisingly decided to reinstate in-person membership. However, this proved to be a mistake as he altered his program by the end of August.

Both Illinois residents and potential users found this moment perplexing.

“Eichner emphasized, “We really just need to focus on managing what’s within our control. This might sound like typical coach rhetoric, but we take immense pride in our flexibility and preparedness to adjust to any situation. This is particularly vital in Illinois.”

Moving to the current time, we have not resumed in-person membership since August.

That has paved the way for a flourishing sports betting market in Illinois.

Illinois has placed almost$ 2 billion in bets.

In terms of monthly sports wagering control, Illinois trails behind New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Among these states, Illinois has the youngest market by a significant margin.

In December, Illinois recorded a staggering $491.7 million in bets, setting a new record. The market is projected to surpass $500 million according to the forthcoming January report from the Illinois Gaming Board.

Furthermore, sports betting has generated $125.5 million in taxable income, which amounts to $20.2 million after state and local taxes are deducted.

Considering the rapid growth of handle, each release of the Illinois revenue report in the fall usually generates “oohs” and “aahs” on Twitter.

Here are the initial weeks of control over sports betting in Illinois:

$ 52.5 million in July 2020
• 140.1 million in August
• September:$ 305.2 million
• As of October, $434.6 million
• In November, $449.2 million.
• $491.7M in December

If the law had been executed as planned, requiring people to apply for online gambling, this situation wouldn’t have escalated so quickly. It’s essential to remember this.

Pennsylvania, the third largest sports betting state in the US, took more than a year to reach $500 million in monthly bets. Meanwhile, Illinois is on course to achieve this milestone within seven months.

Throughout most of its existence, Illinois has had only five website users: DraftKings, FanDuel, BetRivers, PointsBet, and William Hill. This is fewer than most of the top states.

The top providers have achieved notable success in the Land of Lincoln.

DraftKings has risen to the top of the business.

Part of the purpose of the in-person registration requirement was to complicate operations for DraftKings and FanDuel in Illinois.

However, due to mobile registration, they became the two leading sportsbooks in Illinois by handle in December. In that month alone, DraftKings Sportsbook received almost $200 million in bets.

Ever since sports betting was introduced in Illinois, we have witnessed substantial growth in both the amount of money wagered and the number of active users. DraftKings Head of Race and Sportsbook, Johnny Avello, suggests that the future looks promising. We’re pleased to be a part of this journey and wish a happy first anniversary to sports betting in Illinois.

As part of its agreement with the Chicago Cubs, DraftKings will also ultimately establish a retail sportsbook at Wrigley Field.

DraftKings had to battle BetRivers for the top spot after initially gaining control.

Despite posting a substantial $111.2 million in December, BetRivers fell behind DraftKings and FanDuel for the first time.

More casinos in Illinois, as well as perhaps an online game.

As long as online registration remains in use, the Illinois industry may continue to expand.

It is anticipated that several new operators will be added to the roster in 2021, including Barstool, which is set to launch soon. The Unibet and BetMGM apps are also projected to be launched within this year.

The new operators should raise the ceiling of the Prairie State.

It is likely that Illinois’ handle will soon exceed $500 million, and achieving $1 billion is possible.

However, the largest gambling scandal in Illinois might not even necessitate sports betting within a year.

Could online casino betting be available in Illinois sooner than expected?