Illinois Sets Sports Betting Record, Topping $1 Billion In October
Illinois sportsbooks have achieved another significant accomplishment. For the first time, the sports betting handle in Illinois exceeded $1 billion in a single month, which occurred in October.
The Illinois Gaming Board released the latest figures on Thursday.
The handle of nearly $1.03 billion in October surpassed the previous record for sports betting in Illinois, which was around $971 million in March 2022.
Illinois has become only the fourth state in history to generate a monthly handle of a billion dollars from sports betting. Now, Illinois stands alongside New York, New Jersey, and Nevada in the realm of 10-figure monthly profits.
In terms of monthly handle in October, Illinois closely ranked third, following New Jersey ($1.06 billion) and New York (nearly $1.6 billion).
The record month was majorly catalyzed by betting on the NFL and the opening of both the NBA and NHL regular seasons.
Illinois sports betting handle up 82% since August
The sportsbook handle in Illinois rose 24% in October from September’s handle, which was over $831.8 million. Also, there was a 47% increase in the handle in September from August’s $565 million.
This implies an 82% increase in the Illinois sports betting handle between August and October.
The change in legislation is largely responsible for the growth.
This year in March, a law was enacted in Illinois, permitting residents to register online for sportsbooks instead of at a physical state-owned casino. The industry has greatly benefited from the decision to let residents sign up online with one of the state’s seven legal sportsbooks.
IL sportsbook revenue ranked 2nd in US in October
Illinois ranked second in the United States for gross gaming revenue, raking in over $91.5 million. This figure surpassed New Jersey’s revenue by over $13.5 million. However, New York topped the list in October, generating $146.8 million.
Revenue has increased by 10% from September’s $83.5 million, and by 42% when compared to August’s revenue of $64.6 million.
Up until October this year, Illinois still holds the second position in the US for revenue, with nearly $628 million, and the third position for handle, with nearly $7.7 billion.
We strongly believe that Illinois will narrowly miss reaching a handle of $10 billion for the entirety of 2022.
Illinois sports betting revenue – October 2022
| Licensee | Online Brand | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casino Queen East St. Louis | DraftKings | $345,347,638 | $21,268,118 | 6.2% | $4,060,471 |
| Fairmount Park | FanDuel | $327,841,505 | $41,624,393 | 12.7% | $7,000,090 |
| Rivers Des Plaines | BetRivers | $113,323,649 | $10,628,407 | 9.4% | $1,881,689 |
| Hawthorne | PointsBet | $77,823,761 | $5,653,287 | 7.3% | $1,076,757 |
| Hollywood Aurora | Barstool | $55,620,306 | $3,724,681 | 6.7% | $764,146 |
| Par-A-Dice | BetMGM | $53,624,781 | $4,272,055 | 8.0% | $766,625 |
| Grand Victoria | Caesars | $49,141,977 | $3,302,183 | 6.7% | $643,458 |
| Argosy | $5,225,926 | $889,959 | 17.0% | $129,763 | |
| Hollywood Joliet | $1,610,641 | $206,668 | 12.8% | $27,364 | |
| Total | $1,029,560,184 | $91,569,752 | 8.9% | $16,350,363 |
Where Illinois ranks lifetime
The industry has a bright future with more sportsbooks set to launch soon in Illinois.
Ranking of lifetime sports betting revenue (up to October):
- New Jersey has $2,201,459,940, Nevada has $1,587,078,000, Pennsylvania has $1,345,799,232, Illinois has $1,299,321,673, and New York has $1,116,711,716.
Lifetime sports betting handle:
- New Jersey — $31,557,737,759
- Nevada — $27,699,146,038
- Pennsylvania — $17,348,076,595
- Illinois — $16,597,430,747
- New York — $13,455,006,069
Illinois surpassed $200 million in tax revenue from sports betting
In October, sportsbooks in Illinois generated more than $16.4 million for state and local treasuries. From the start of the year through October, almost $99 million in total tax revenue has been produced by sports betting in the state. In the lifetime of sports betting in Illinois, which began in June 2019, tax revenues have now reached nearly $204 million, surpassing $200 million in October. The effective tax rate for sportsbooks in Illinois was 17.9% in October.
Meanwhile, in Illinois, the hold was 8.9% in October alone, 8.2% for the year to date, and has averaged 7.8% over its lifetime.
Sports betting exceeds $170 billion in lifetime handle nationwide
The 26 states where sports betting is legal have collectively handled over $170 billion up to October in their lifetime. Their revenue is approaching $13 billion and they have generated over $2 billion in total tax revenue.
For the year 2022, the total handle has already surpassed $73 billion. The total revenue for this year has crossed $5.7 billion. The accumulated tax revenue for the year has reached a high of nearly $1.2 billion, breaking the $1 billion mark.
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