Punters in Illinois wagered close to $61 million on the Super Bowl according to reports shared by state regulators. According to data shared by the Illinois Gaming Board, sportsbooks earned $9.5 million while the state walked away with $1.4 million in tax revenue. The $61 million generated was a boost of 33% from 2021’s title game.
The title game saw sportsbooks in Illinois generate $1.4 million more in tax revenue for the state out of the $9.5 million amassed. The handle on Super Sunday 2022 state-wide came to the tune of $45.6 million. On this day, the house walked away with $7.7 million while $1.1 million was re-directed to the state.
All types of wagers were permitted during the event including coin tosses to the color or the Gatorade that would be dumped on the winning head coach; who turned out to be Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay. Of the 8 sportsbooks allowed by regulators, most of the bets came from online sports operators that have controlled the market since its launch in 2020.
In particular, DraftKings at Casino Queen led the pack with $21.5 million in wagers placed. DraftKings was followed by FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing, which generated $17 million in Super Bowl wagers. Each of the operators produced returns of $2.5 million and $5 million respectively.
Unfortunately, although DraftKings and FanDuel benefited greatly from the charged Super Bowl atmosphere. Two residential casinos did not have as much to celebrate. Case in point, Hollywood Casino Joliet would end up paying out close to $44,000 more than they had taken into winning bettors. Another local casino, the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, fared even worse as it would end the night in the red by close to $145,000.
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Super Bowl Betting Was Anticipated to Set Records This Year
According to a press release that was shared by the American Gaming Association, Super Bowl LVI was expected to break wagering records this year- and punters in the country certainly did not disappoint. This year’s Rams-Bengals matchup was expected to generate a record 31.4 million bettors, a boost of 35% from 2021’s Chiefs-Buccaneers matchup, which also set the preceding record.
American Gaming Association estimated that punters would put down $7.61 billion, signaling a boost of $3.33 billion. Gambling has continued to grow and has picked up speed from state to state since the practice was legalized by the Supreme Court in 2018. So much so that this year, 18.2 million punters placed bets online at retail sportsbooks or with bookies, which generated a rise of 78% compared to last year.
Out of all the states that currently enjoy legal sports betting, Nevada generated the highest sports betting handles. Operators in Nevada set a record of $179.8 million shattering 2021’s record of $158.6 million, which saw the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots battle it out. Sportsbook in Nevada generated a net $15.4 million on the Super Bowl, which was the highest amount produced by any state.
New Jersey, on the other hand, collected $143.7 million while managing an impressive Pennsylvania $68 million. New York, which is scheduled to be the most successful sports betting market yet, is also anticipated to have performed just as well, although the Empire State is yet to share its figures. Sportsbooks in the Empire state made $472.1 million in wagers in the week ending February 13th, 2021, which is also the week that the Super Bowl was taking place.
In total, 30 states, as well as the District of Colombia, now allow punters to place wagers through legal sportsbooks. With this new frontier of legal sports betting taking root in the market, more and more Americans will likely continue wagering on major sports events like these.
2022 Is Expected to Be a Strong Year for Illinois
2022 has been off to a great start for the Prairie state and the good fortune is expected to last all through the year. 2021 laid a great foundation for the state, having managed to close off last year with almost $800m. In December 2021, Illinois experienced its 3rd successive month of more than $780 million in wagers placed by residents.
This impressive performance earned the state 3rd place among the country’s top 3 sports betting states. In December, online and retail bets totaled $789.6 million, which was an increase of 60% and the second-highest online and retail wagers to be collected by the state in its sports wagering history. Betting activity is always strong at the end of the year, which allows sportsbooks to perform well during the early months of January.
The betting volume in December averaged $25.5 million each day, which generated $33.7m in taxable revenue, $5.4 million of which was directed to state and local funds. In general, 2021 marked a surge in sports wagering, which drove Illinois handle for the full year up to $7.02 billion, which was an increase compared to 2020’s paltry $1.9 billion.
Since Blackhawks announcer Eddie Olczyk placed the first wager at Rivers Casino in Des Plainesless than 2 years ago, residents of Illinois have bet more than $7 billion on their favorite local and international sports.
Final Thoughts
Illinois sportsbooks have been operating at a blistering pace over the last couple of months and it certainly helps that the first 3 months of this year are full of sporting activity. Indeed, the Super Bowl and the upcoming March Madness should help drum up even more revenue for the Prairie State.
This year’s Super Bowl was certainly one for the books. Punters in the country have never had as many opportunities to bet on the Super Bowl in a safe and legal environment as they do now, which helps to explain the impressive handles and tax revenues generated. As a result of the myriad options, punters that previously gambled via offshore and illegal bookies are now relying on a legal system, which has not only helped to guarantee a secure gambling space but a competitive one as well.
