Illinois Sportsbooks Post Record Month, Fourth Straight Billion-Dollar Handle

The Illinois Gaming Board released figures today revealing that Illinois sportsbooks have set a new record for handle in January, surpassing $1 billion for the fourth consecutive month.

In January, over $1.07 billion was wagered via IL sports betting apps.

In December, over $1.029 billion was bet through Illinois sportsbooks, marking a 4% increase from the previous monthly record of $1.03 billion in November. Illinois sports betting handle first exceeded $1 billion in October.

Illinois has become the fourth state to record four consecutive months of billion-dollar handle, following New York, New Jersey, and Nevada.

In January, Illinois leapfrogged Pennsylvania to secure third place in lifetime sports betting handle, with over $19.7 billion wagered on sports. The state of Illinois is poised to exceed the $20 billion threshold once the figures for February are made public.

The total lifetime sports betting handle in the United States surpassed $200 billion, boosted by January’s figures from Illinois.

Throughout the entirety of 2022, the sports betting handle in Illinois amounted to precisely $9,751,301,251. In terms of sports betting handle, Illinois took the third spot in 2022, trailing behind New York (exceeding $16.2 billion) and New Jersey (almost reaching $11 billion).

Ohio posts impressive inaugural month

However, Illinois fell slightly to fourth place in the national betting race in January due to a new state’s entry. On Jan. 1, Ohio launched its sports betting and managed $1.1 billion in its first month, placing it second after New York and ahead of both New Jersey and Illinois.

Handle by state for January 2023:

New York has $1.8 billion, Ohio has $1.1 billion, New Jersey has $1.08 billion, Illinois has $1.07 billion, Nevada has $936 million, and Pennsylvania has $772.3 million.

Illinois sports betting handle up 23% year-over-year

Although the sportsbook handle in Illinois for January was roughly equivalent to that of December, November, and October, it showed a significant increase of 29% from September’s total bet amounting to over $831.8 million, and a dramatic 89% rise from the August figure of $565 million.

The change in legislation is primarily responsible for the growth.

In March 2022, new laws were implemented that permitted residents of Illinois to register for sportsbooks online rather than at a physical casino within the state. This decision to allow online registration with any of the state’s seven legal sportsbooks has significantly benefited the industry.

This accounts for the 23% increase in Illinois sports betting handle in January 2023, compared to the same month in January 2022, when more than $867 million was wagered on sports.

IL sportsbook revenue ranked third in US in January

Illinois ranked third in the US for gross gaming revenue in January, generating just over $88.5 million.

The highest revenue in the nation was recorded by Ohio with over $209 million, succeeded by New York, which earned close to $150 million. Illinois surpassed New Jersey, which generated over $72 million in revenue.

Before Ohio entered the scene, Illinois was the second highest state in the US in terms of sports betting revenue in 2022, amassing over $806 million.

New York led the US in sports betting revenue, bringing in nearly $1.4 billion. New Jersey, trailing just behind Illinois, took the third spot with close to $763 million.

In December, the Prairie State ranked third in the US for sports betting revenue, generating nearly $81.4 million. This figure was surpassed by New Jersey’s revenue of $87.7 million. However, New York topped the charts nationwide, generating close to $143 million in December.

January 2023 Revenue from Sports Betting in Illinois

Licensee	Online Brand	Handle	Revenue	Hold	Taxes
Fairmount Park	FanDuel	$373,531,524	$43,749,204	11.7%	$7,513,796
Casino Queen East St. Louis	DraftKings	$336,933,843	$23,860,260	7.1%	$4,048,928
Rivers Des Plaines	BetRivers	$110,376,255	$7,905,399	7.2%	$1,400,642
Hawthorne	PointsBet	$76,414,318	$4,635,960	6.1%	$795,887
Grand Victoria	Caesars	$59,037,622	$1,205,686	2.0%	$392,758
Par-A-Dice	BetMGM	$58,045,794	$3,766,264	6.5%	$633,695
Hollywood Aurora	Barstool	$48,888,863	$2,993,557	6.1%	$591,499
Argosy		$5,313,303	$333,371	6.3%	$25,740
Hollywood Joliet		$1,491,770	$102,362	6.9%	$7,708
Total		$1,070,033,292	$88,552,064	8.3%	$15,410,653

Illinois over $15 million in tax revenue in January from sports betting

In January, sportsbooks in Illinois generated a total tax revenue of $15.4 million.

Since its launch in June 2019, sports betting in Illinois has generated almost $248 million in tax revenue. Of this, nearly $128 million was produced in 2022 alone.

In December, sportsbooks in Illinois generated over $13 million for state and local treasuries. Meanwhile, in November, they produced over $15.5 million in taxes.

In January, the effective tax rate for sportsbook in Illinois was 17.4%.

In January, the hold in Illinois was 8.3%. The same percentage was maintained throughout 2022, while in December it was slightly lower at 7.9%. The lifetime hold has also been at 7.9%.

Illinois sports betting surpasses Pennsylvania’s lifetime

The future of the industry is promising with the upcoming arrival of more sportsbooks in Illinois.

In January, Illinois, also known as the Prairie State, exceeded Pennsylvania in sports betting handle. Regarding revenue, Illinois leapfrogged Pennsylvania in November 2022.

Lifetime sports betting handle:

New Jersey has almost $35 billion, Nevada has almost $30.5 billion, Illinois has over $19.7 billion, Pennsylvania has over $19.6 billion, and New York has nearly $18.5 billion.

Ranking of lifetime sports betting revenue (up to January 2023):

1. Nearly $2.5 billion – New Jersey
2. Over $1.7 billion — Nevada
3. Over $1.568 billion — Illinois
4. Over $1.55 billion — New York
5. Over $1.54 billion – Pennsylvania

Sportsbooks exceeded $200 billion in lifetime handle nationwide

Through January, the 27 states where sports betting is legal have collectively handled over $200 billion in lifetime. Their revenue is close to $15.7 billion, with tax revenue approaching $2.69 billion.

The total handle in 2022 exceeded $93 billion, while the total revenue was nearly $8 billion. For that year, the combined tax revenue surpassed $1.5 billion.