Illinois Skyrockets To No. 4 Sports Betting Market In US

Illinois quickly rose to the top of the rankings, for sure. 4 activities gaming markets exist in the US. Was it hold the top position in the future?

In September, the Prairie State reported a handle of $305.2 million, a substantial increase from $140 million in August. BetRivers dominated with a 36.9% market share, however, DraftKings and FanDuel are gradually reducing the gap.

September in Illinois was anticipated to bring in significant revenue, and it fulfilled that expectation.

Numerous factors contributed to the success of the state. For the first time, mobile registration was available throughout the entire month, a novel occurrence in the early stages of the market.

Moreover, Illinois was home to five online sportsbooks. BetRivers, DraftKings, and FanDuel were active throughout the whole month, with PointsBet and William Hill joining the mix in the middle of September.

Crucially, football made its comeback at both the NFL and college levels. Adding the MLB and NBA playoffs to the equation resulted in a jam-packed sports calendar in September.

For the first time in September, Illinois surpasses Indiana.

Indiana, a neighboring state, set a record by posting a $207 million handle in September. However, it only took Illinois a few months to surpass the Hoosier State.

In September, Illinois also exceeded Colorado.

IL sportsbooks saw a decrease in revenue from $7.2 million in August to $6.84 million, maintaining a hold of 2.244%.

Consequently, Cook County and the state increased their tax revenue by over $82,000 and $1.03 million respectively.

In September, Pennsylvania, with a population approximately equal to Illinois, reported a handle of $462.8 million.

If distant registration is still in use, Illinois is moving in that direction as the business develops.

In September, just above 97% of bets were placed online, surpassing both July and August.

Once more, BetRivers is in the lead, but opposition is encroaching.

In August, BetRivers secured a significant 84% of the market share. This was assisted by the fact that it permitted users to register gently during June and July, and it was the sole live online casino for the entire month.

During those periods, BetRivers had a substantial advantage as there were no other Illinois sportsbooks open.

In September, it maintained its market dominance, recording approximately $112.69 million in handle. Nonetheless, its competitors are starting to narrow the difference.

Here we take a look at the performance of each Illinois sportsbook for September:

Sportsbook	Handle
BetRivers	$ 112.7 billion
DraftKings	$ 98.3 billion
FanDuel	$ 78.6 billion
PointsBet	$ 8.88 billion
Sportsbook at the Alton Argosy Casino( retail only )	$ 2. 3 million
John Hill	$ 2. 2 million
Joliet Sportsbook at the Hollywood Casino( retail only )	$ 1. 1 million
Betting at Aurora Casino in Hollywood( store only )	$ 1.08 billion

The sports betting market in Illinois is starting to mature due to the competition posed by the four books, which are reducing BetRivers’ dominance. FanDuel has approximately 25.7% of the total market share in the state, closely followed by DraftKings holding 32.2% of the market share.

The website control bore the load in both cases. DraftKings’ total revenue, over 97.8% or $96.15 million, was derived from online betting. The division on FanDuel’s end was even more biased towards online wagers, with the retail book at Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria contributing less than 0.3% to the total.

It seems that the retail sector’s downturn is not likely to improve anytime soon. Furthermore, the COVID-19 situation appears to be escalating in Prairie State.

Smart registration is probably active for a while.

Given the current COVID – 19 statistics trend in Illinois, it’s hard to visualize Gov. JB Pritzker reinstating the requirement for in-person membership anytime soon.

If there is no improvement in the nationwide statistics, Pritzker may soon declare fresh state limitations that could affect Illinois casinos, off-track gambling venues, racetracks, and video lottery rooms. Some of the data is more severe than what the state endured in February and March before the initial shutdown, as per Pritzker’s press briefing on Thursday.

Should that happen, provided sporting events continue to take place, the expansion of online sports betting in Illinois may persist. The sports betting industry in Illinois, sanctioned by the constitution, appears to be as valuable as predicted by its critics.

This report also includes contributions from Derek Helling.