Illinois Sports Betting Handle Ranks Third In The Nation In 2022

In 2022, only New York and New Jersey rank above Illinois in terms of sports betting handle, making Illinois third in the nation.

Only New York has a higher total sportsbook revenue than Illinois.

In the first half of this year, sports gamblers in Illinois placed bets amounting to over $4.75 billion. This figure is compared to the total sports wagers in New York, which nearly reached $8.6 billion, and those in New Jersey, which were almost $5.8 billion in 2022.

In 2022, Illinois’ sports betting revenue surpassed $344 million, only trailing behind New York’s revenue of approximately $608 million. It also surpassed New Jersey, which reported revenue of around $309 million in the first half of this year.

Illinois handle up 48%, tax revenue up 34% over 2021

This year also marks a significant improvement compared to 2021.

Participants in Illinois sports betting have wagered more than $4.75 billion in the first half of this year, a 47% increase from the total amount of over $3.2 billion bet in the first half of 2021.

The revenue from sports betting in Illinois has increased by 34% from over $256 million in 2021 to over $344 million in 2022.

In 2022, sportsbooks in Illinois generated around $55 million in tax revenue, including state and local taxes. This is a 34% increase from the over $41 million in total taxes collected in the first half of 2021.

And yet, Illinois sports betting handle is down 35% since March

Despite this, June marked the third consecutive month that the Illinois sports betting handle dropped from March’s record handle in the Prairie State.

In June, over $628 million was bet on sports by Illinois gamblers.

That’s down:

• From the over $764 million handled in May, 18% was accounted for.
• In April, 25% was bet from over $839 million.
• From the $971 million wagered in March, 35% was recorded.

The dog days of summer Illinois sports betting

The limited summer sports schedule, in part, has contributed to the declines since March.

The betting for sports usually sees a significant decrease when the NFL, NCAA March Madness, NBA, or NHL are not in season, leaving only the MLB as the major sports league available for wagers. The underperformance of the Chicago Cubs, along with the middling performance of the White Sox, are likely to further affect the betting handle.

Still, baseball was the most bet on sport in Illinois, attracting over $222 million in bets in June alone. This accounts for approximately 35% of the state’s total sports betting handle for the month.

Tennis sets Illinois sports betting record

Betting on tennis has been another bright spot.

In June, Illinois bettors set a monthly record by wagering almost $87 million on tennis, a 23% increase from the nearly $71 million bet by Illinois residents on the sport in May.

The breakdown of other sports was as follows:

Sport	Handle	Revenue
Baseball	$222,454,854	$6,646,587
Parlay	$140,452,430	$20,446,221
Tennis	$86,809,212	$4,443,793
Basketball	$68,633,592	(642,825)
Other	$29,502,506	(305,682)
Hockey	$25,287,646	$2,384,544
Soccer	$23,910,269	$2,222,453
Golf	$16,176,638	$1,811,889
Combat	$12,370,206	$3,157,277
Football	$1,775,735	$729,110
Racing	$1,087,435	$88,109
TOTAL	$628,459,522	$40,981,475

FanDuel, DraftKings took in 64% of the handle

In June, FanDuel and DraftKings were closely matched and overwhelmingly outperformed their competitors.

In June, FanDuel Illinois Sportsbook reported a handle of over $201 million and revenue exceeding $16 million. Similarly, the Illinois DraftKings Sportsbook had a handle surpassing $185 million and nearly $11 million in revenue.

Together, the two operators accounted for $386 million in handle and around $27 million in revenue. This represented 64% and 69% of the total for all operators in June, respectively.

The totals for the online operator were:

Operator	Handle	Revenue	Tax – State	Tax – Local
FanDuel	$201,255,412	$16,238,758	$2,493,178	$188,014
DraftKings	$185,028,918	$10,825,714	$1,348,090	$91,211
BetRivers	$60,399,310	$4,273,432	$712,785	$60,535
PointsBet	$52,453,333	$2,678,315	$443,897	$28,037
BetMGM	$37,565,794	$1,640,099	$274,636	$24,305
Barstool	$35,549,144	$2,206,965	$377,684	$26,393
Caesars	$32,704,603	$1,512,057	$209,191	$10,962
TOTAL	$604,956,513	$39,375,340	$4,859,460	$429,456

Are new records coming this fall?

The gambling industry may experience a slower pace during the summer months, but Illinois, being the third largest sports betting market, is set for a significant surge in the autumn.

Betting on football is highly popular in the US. The comeback of the NFL will significantly boost the figures for sports betting.