Sportsbooks in Illinois continue to break records. The state’s sportsbooks set a new record for sports betting in October with operators managing to generate more than $100 million in revenue. When the state legislature passed a bill to allow sports bets at horse tracks, riverboat casinos, and select retail casinos, no one could have anticipated this level of month-to-month growth.
According to the Illinois Gaming Board, October’s handle of close to $1.03 billion surpassed the previous state sports betting handle record of $971 million. This handle was set in March last year. October’s handle effectively allowed Illinois to become the 4th state to generate a monthly handle of $1 billion from sports gets.
The only 3 other states to have produced billion-dollar handles in a month include New Jersey, New York, and Nevada, which sometimes produces 10-figure billion monthly handles. In October 2022, Illinois produced the third-highest handle behind Garden State’s $1.06 billion and New York’s impressive handle of more than $1.6 billion.
The massive revenue boost in October can be attributed largely to the commencement of both the NHL’s and NBA’s regular seasons. Wagers placed on the NFL were also a huge catalyst for the highly profitable month. In October, the handle in the state’s sportsbook rose by close to 25% compared to September’s handle of $831.8 million.
September’s handle also saw a considerable improvement of close to 50% compared to the $565 million that was generated in August 2022. As a result, the sports betting handles in the state rose by 82% between August and October 2022.
Although a busy sports betting schedule certainly helped the handle swell up, a lot of the growth in the Illinois betting market could also be credited to legislative reforms. Earlier in March 2022, legislation allowing residents to sign up for online sportsbooks remotely finally came into effect. Before this, punters were required to visit one of the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos to register for online betting.
This decision to allow punters to register for online betting remotely has been a boon to the lucrative betting market. As far as gross gaming revenue is concerned, Illinois generated the second-highest GGR in the US with $91.5 million. Illinois’ gross gaming revenue beat New Jersey’s revenue by more than $91.5 million.
However, New York still emerged as the winner with its outstanding October Gross Gaming Revenue of $146.8 million. Year to date through October 2022, the state maintained the second-highest revenue in the US and occupied 3rd place in the overall handle table. Experts predicted that the state would easily surpass the $10 billion handle mark in 2022 although the gaming board is yet to share 2022’s overall results.
In October 2022, sportsbooks in Illinois also managed to generate more than $16.4 million in taxes for the local government. Year to date through October 2022, sportsbooks in the state successfully generated a combined tax revenue worth more than $99 million.
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The future looks even brighter with more sportsbooks expected to launch in 2023
Although Illinois is one of the most profitable sports betting markets in the country, a lot of high-profile operators remain reluctant to enter the market. Plenty of deterrents including the high cost of a license are one of the many factors that have kept operators at bay. At present, it costs operators at least $20 million to acquire an online-only sportsbook license.
The cost to add a sportsbook for any brand-new casino or track, on the other hand, varies and can range between $2.3 million and $10 million. Alternatively, a license to operate a book at any professional sports facility in the state will require the operator to part with at least $10 million.
Given that there are already established operators that have cemented themselves in the lucrative market, it’s requiring a lot of preparation and funds for new sportsbooks to enter the market. Some of the well-established operators that are already dominating the Illinois sports betting market include PointsBet, BetMGM, FanDuel, Caesars, BetRivers, DraftKings, and Barstool.
In addition, Illinois also currently doesn’t allow punters to place bets on the most profitable vertical in the gambling market- online casinos. The lack of online casinos in the state has no doubt impacted the amount of revenue that’s generated on a month-to-month basis. This might help to explain why surrounding states including Michigan, New Jersey, as well as Pennsylvania, boast more sportsbooks compared to Illinois.
Even though online betting is not yet legal, it is worth noting that the state has the most successful video gaming terminal market in the US. The state boasts approximately 44,000 video gaming terminal units in close to 8,500 locations all over the state. The revenue that is generated from these terminals is so great that it even outstrips revenue from brick-and-mortar casinos in the state.
So which sportsbooks are expected to enter the state in 2023? Circa Sports is anticipated to be among the first to enter the market in 2023. Circa Sports, which is headquartered in Nevada already has a strong partnership with American Place Casino in Waukegan.
In September, Bally Bet also applied for a sportsbook license from the Illinois Gaming Board. Bally Bet already has 2 physical casinos, namely Bally’s Quad City Casino and Bally’s Chicago, which would make it easy to start operating in the state.
bet365, which is one of the largest sportsbooks in Europe, has also reportedly been eyeing the sports betting market in Illinois. As one of the most successful operators in Europe, bet365 has the financial muscle needed to establish itself in the market. Plus, bet365 already enjoys strong support in other states including Colorado, New Jersey, as well as New York.
Final Thoughts
Since the sports betting market was introduced in Illinois just before the pandemic wreaked havoc on the world, the state has managed to generate billions in wagers. According to officials and industry insiders, the sports betting industry in the state is only expected to grow further with the construction of new sportsbook stadiums in the state and the possible approval of online casinos in 2023.
