Illinois Sports Betting Handle Dips In May, But Still A Comfortable No. 2 In US

Written By Joe Boozell on July 6, 2021
illinois sports betting may 2021

In May, Illinois’s sports wagering handle saw a decline once more as the state recorded$ 507.3 million in bets for the month.

That’s down about $30 million from April’s report. And while the decrease is consistent with some states, handle was ever-so-slightly up across the US in May. Perhaps Illinois is feeling the effects of in-person sports betting registration.

Still, Illinois was one of only two states to post at least $500 million in May sports betting handle. Therefore, the Land of Lincoln finished second to only New Jersey for the second straight month.

With a handle of$ 477.6 million, Nevada had the third-highest handle. Therefore, Illinois has a cushion of about$ 30 million in second place.

Nevada has in-person membership, just like Illinois. However, based on their location, its financial sportsbooks are much better suited for an in-person sign-up setting.

Illinois sports bettingOperators made$ 36.6 million in revenue. The state’s tax revenue increased by$ 5.43 million.

One casino quickly recorded its most prosperous month despite the slow athletics gaming season.

Illinois may manage casino income.

Here & rsquo is how each Illinois sportsbook handled and made money in May:

Licensee Product on the internet Complete Manage Handle Online a wholesale handler Profit overall Express levy Nearby Excise Tax
King of the Casino DraftKings $170,109,570 $166,227,839 $3,881,731 $7,210,758 $1,065,214 $71,669
Park Fairmount FanDuel $156,267,145 $155,574,427 $692,718 $20,168,670 $2,888,467 $239,888
Rivers BetRivers $89,002,282 $76,722,864 $12,279,418 $5,240,504 $778,553 $66,934
Aurora Hollywood Barstool $39,649,164 $38,201,803 $1,447,361 $1,472,823 $251,825 $16,320
Hawthorne PointsBet $38,967,969 $37,401,188 $1,566,781 $2,321,923 $365,593 $24,271
Victoria the Great Hill, William $9,114,351 $8,374,915 $739,436 -$128,245 $9,366 $588
Argosy N/A $2,672,277 $0 $2,672,277 $338,081 $52,094 $0
Joliet from Hollywood N/A $1,169,653 $0 $1,169,653 $167,282 $23,080 $0
Par-A-Dice FanDuel $327,350 $0 $327,350 -$236,850 $458 $0
Total $507,279,761 $482,503,036 $24,776,725 $36,554,946 $5,434,650 $419,670

FanDuelwrestled away the Illinois handle lead from DraftKings in April for the first time. However, DraftKings in Illinois reclaimed the top spot in May.

With that said, FanDuel in Illinois still profited the most of any state operator in April … by a lot. So it’s likely not sweating over missing out on the handle lead. FanDuel consistently leads all Illinois sportsbooks in revenue, but it posted its best month in what’s typically considered the sports betting offseason.

Also interesting in these numbers: In April, it looked like Barstool had cemented itself as the No. 4 sportsbook in Illinois. It posted about $10 million more in handle than PointsBet for the month.

The handle of PointsBet & rsquo fell by about 5.6 % in May. On the other hand, Barstool & rsquo,s saw a 23 % decline.

Barstool was evidently more hurt by the scheduling of the in-person registration than any other operator. That’s because it only had about three weeks to register users remotely, while other online sportsbooks had several months.

However, the May numbers show that interest in Barstool dwindled in May. Perhaps it’s a case of the new shine wearing off or that its users continued to lose bet after bet at launch.

You Illinois sportsbooks continue to use the No. second place in the US?

As was already mentioned, Illinois had a handle of about$ 30 million more than Nevada in May. Illinois should be able to hold onto following place throughout the summer thanks to that prospect and the state’s commitment to baseball betting.

Baseball was the second-most popular sport to bet on in IL after basketball in May. Illinoisans bet $126.1 million on America’s Pastime. The Cubs and White Sox were both excellent in May, and perhaps Chicago baseball betting helped drive handle.

But if Illinois also has in-person registration, it should start to slide down the rankings of states come fall. Sportsbooks gain a sizable portion of their clients during soccer season, so Illinois won’t be able to register users online.

States like Pennsylvania and Nevada ought to be able to leap Illinois as a result.

The hope is that IL will experience more growth if online subscription returns in 2022. Believe the Illinois sports betting market to remain unchanged in the interim.

Charles Rex Arbogast’s pictures, AP
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Boozell, Joe

Boozell, Joe has also been a college sports writer for NCAA.com since 2015. His work has also appeared in Bleacher Report, FoxSports.com and NBA.com. Growing up, Boozell squared off against both Anthony Davis and Frank Kaminsky in the Chicagoland basketball scene … you can imagine how that went.

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