Illinois Sportsbooks End 2021 With Nearly $800 Million In December Wagers

According to Play Illinois, another strong month pushes Illinois & rsquo, handle to$ 7 billion for the year, third-highest in the U.S.

(LAS VEGAS) – Despite falling short of breaking new records, Illinois sportsbooks ended the year positively with December’s revenue nearly reaching $40 million on almost $800 million in betting. The state marked its third consecutive month with betting exceeding $780 million, signaling a strong finish to a year that saw Illinois rank as the third-largest sports betting market in the nation. Illinois saw nearly $7 billion in bets, as reported by Play Illinois, a tracker of the state’s regulated online gaming and sports betting market.

Joe Boozell, the lead scientist at Play-illinois.com, suggests that the Bulls are in a promising position moving forward, as Bookmakers have seen rapid growth in the past three months. He states, “Despite the consistent growth, it’s important to remember that the Illinois market is still emerging. Later this year, some sportsbooks restrictions will be removed, which will further strengthen the industry.”

Official data released on Friday revealed that sportsbooks in Illinois recorded $789.6 million in online and retail bets in December, a 60.6% increase from $491.7 million, making it the second-highest monthly total in the state’s history. This follows a busy autumn season, with $779.8 million in November bets and a record $840.4 million in October, bolstered by five full weekends of football betting. The average daily betting amount in December was $25.5 million, slightly down from $26.6 million in November.

Nonetheless, gamblers performed significantly better in December compared to November. The gross gaming revenue dropped to a more usual figure of $37.7 million in December, a 53.1% decrease from the November peak of $78.2 million. Even so, December’s triumph was still 29.3% higher than the $28.4 million recorded in December 2020. The final sum gathered in December amounted to $34.7 million in taxable revenue, with state and local taxes amounting to $5.4 million.

However, with the return of in-person registration requirements to the state, the quarter symbolized the conclusion of a season that witnessed a tremendous expansion for sportsbooks. In 2021, both retail and online sportsbooks in Illinois generated:

Online and retail wagers totaled$ 7.02 billion, an increase of 273 % from 2020’s$ 1.9 billion. Over the course of the year, only New Jersey($ 10.9 billion ) and Nevada($ 7.1 billion ), attracted more bets.
• The total amount of online bets has increased to $6.7 billion, up from $1.8 billion in 2020.
• In 2020, gross profits were $137.4 million and they rose to $534.1 million.
• State and local income increased from $20.2 million in 2020 to $84.7 million.

Eric Ramsey, a scientist for the PlayUSA.com Network, which encompasses Play Illinois.net, stated that despite regulatory restrictions such as in-person enrollment imposed on Illinois bookmakers, they managed to nearly triple their gambling volume. Due to the anticipated removal of in-person registration and other regulations in March, it is likely that Illinois will surpass both Nevada and New Jersey in the coming year. The prospects for sports gambling in the state are remarkably promising.

In December, football betting generated $265.7 million, a rise from $257.1 million in November, even with the challenges faced by the Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, due to the success of the Bulls, basketball betting saw an increase to $226.4 million, a slight rise from $236.3 million in November.

In December, 95.3% or $752.9 million of all bets were accounted for by online betting. DraftKings/Casino Queen led the state with a combined online and retail handle of $295.0 million, which included $2.90.4 million in online bets. The combined control generated a net profit of $7.5 million.

FanDuel, with a total of $232.2 million in online and retail bets, including $230.6 million, once again came in second place in the state. The overall handle saw an increase from $216.2 million to $139 million in November, resulting in the highest total revenue in the state of $13 million.

Regulators have recently given the green light to BetMGM, paving the way for the Illinois launch of a top-four operator. This will also mark the introduction of the state’s seventh online sportsbook.

According to Boozell, DraftKings and FanDuel have profited from the absence of competition among online casinos. However, the market’s maturity has been stymied. The changes in regulation, along with the introduction of another well-established brand like BetMGM, should assist the industry in making further progress.

For more, visit Play-illinois.com/news.

Contact Zack Hall from Catena Media at [email protected]