Illinois Sportsbooks Expectedly Slow In February To Less Than $700 Million In Bets

Post-Super Bowl quiet hits, but Play Illinois predicts that March will likely take more records.

(LAS VEGAS) — Wagering at Illinois sportsbooks slipped to less than $700 million in February, the lowest monthly handle since September. With just one NFL game on the schedule, a post-Super Bowl lull is to be expected, according to  i, which tracks the state’s regulated online gaming and sports betting market. But the seasonal slowdown masks impressive year-over-year gains in what was the last month of in-person registration requirements.

“The Super Bowl can’t completely replace the volume of wagers from a full month of NFL football,” said JoeBoozell, lead analyst for Play-illinois.com. “Importantly, though, sportsbooks continued to show strong year-over-year growth, and that momentum almost certainly accelerated in March, which brought lighter registration requirements and the NCAA Tournament.”

According to official data released Thursday evening, bettors placed$ 679.4 million in wagers at Illinois & rsquo, online, and retail sportsbooks in February, despite$ 650.5 million worth of Super Bowl-related wagering. Despite being down 21.7 % from the record$ 867.5 million in bets in January, February & rsquo’s handle increased 33.3 % from$ 53.7 million as of February 2021. Over the course of the 28 days in February, betting volume increased to$ 24. 3 million per time, off from$ 18 to 2021 but down from January’s$ 28 million.

Sportsbooks won $35.6 million in gross revenue from February’s bets, up 14.9% from $30.3 million in February 2021 and down 40% from $59.3 million in January. The win generated $5.3 million in state and local taxes.

February typically sees a lull in betting between the busy months of January and March due to the short month and just one NFL game on the schedule, the Super Bowl & mdash.

Baseball’s announcement of a complete plan eliminated the biggest worry for casinos, according to EricRamsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which also includes Play Illinois.net. & ldquo, Sportsbooks can anticipate a regular sports schedule for the first time since Illinois started sports betting during the pandemic in 2020. When the registration requirements are changed, we & rsquo will finally be able to see the full potential of the market. & rdquo,

In February, online betting accounted for$ 652.3 million, or 96 %, of all bets. FanDuel and DraftKings continued to compete for market share in a neck-and-neck fashion. With$ 212.5 million in online and retail bets, including$ 21.3 million for virtual bet, FanDuel was in the lead among all users. With a combined online and retail handle of$ 212.2 million, DraftKings came in second, including$ 207.8 million in net bet.

The last quarter of Illinois’ in-person registration requirements, which were eliminated in early March just before the NCAA Tournament, was February. In a market that is no longer artificially constrained, March & rsquo’s revenue will provide deeper insight into the growth that sportsbooks can anticipate for the rest of the year.

According to Boozell, the sports betting market’s second book came to an end in February. The biggest uncertainty is whether Illinois will be able to overtake New Jersey and Nevada and become the second-largest activities gambling market in the United States, only surpassed by New York. That, in our opinion, is a very real probability. & rdquo,

For more, visit Play-illinois.com/news.

Zack Hall, Catena Media, [email protected]