The sports betting market is growth in great leaps considering the high demand for betting operators all over the United States. In Illinois, this industry is geared up to become the country’s largest market in some cases even outdoing some offerings eyeing legalization in the near future. At the moment, the state only has seven active live mobile sportsbooks but this does not stop the market from competing with the likes of New Jersey.
Everybody involves in betting in one way or the other will agree that the best performing market is Las Vegas – mainly because it was the first and longest serving betting destination in the US. For New Jersey and Illinois, the constant battle has been to clinch the second countrywide ranking and that explains the regular switching. New Jersey makes it to the history books as the third US state to accept a legal single-game sports bet and hosts over 20 statewide mobile operators.
The performance of July is the latest business period from which financial data has been captured and released to the public. The latest data indicate that the Land of Lincoln recorded slightly over $516m in handle compared to an estimated $531m achieved by operators in New Jersey. In June, Illinois and New Jersey reported handles of $628m and $633m respectively.
The conquest for Illinois does not only revolve around New Jersey but the nation’s most prestigious ambling market as well. At the beginning of the year, Illinois year eclipsed the monthly Nevada totals which for many decades had been the country’s sole legal single-game sports betting market.
New York is pretty new to the gambling space but has managed to rapidly rise up to be the fourth-most populated state in the country. It is also the largest in terms of legal mobile wagering; this is far by far the nation’s largest sports betting market having accepted over $844m in legal sports bets in July.
Considering the size of its population, the success of the Illinois sports betting industry is not a surprise. This is the 6th most populated state in the country and home to Chicago which is the third-largest metro area. At position three behind New York and Pennsylvania, New York boasts of a high population that keeps the stakes flowing.
In every budget period the performance of Illinois has been routinely exceeding that of Pennsylvania. These two jurisdictions are easy to compare since they have a similar population size and composition. Regardless of the fact that the Pennsylvania market was established many years before Illinois, the state’s revenue was less than that of Illinois. It is obvious that the growth of Illinois has been rapid although the start was rather slow courtesy of the pandemic and homegrown policies.
The first retail sportsbook to be set up in Illinois opened business a few days before the rage of Covid-19 was declared and casino establishments were forced to close. This meant that all the gambling spots that operated on physical premises had to halt their business operations. The timing of this first casino was without a doubt ill placed but the in-person closures led to an extended period of time during which bettors were effectively unable to place bets.
After the spread of the virus had been contained, business gradually began resuming operations although the atmosphere was unfamiliar for many. It is during this period that the legislators of Illinois reinstated a policy which required all online gamblers to be registered members of a brick-and-mortar casino – it meant presenting at an actual casino to create a player profile.
For a bettor based in Chicago, this meant that they had to take a four hours ride if they wanted to sign up as members of the DraftKings Sportsbook at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis along the Missouri border. This requirement was so strict that a lot of people were unable to meet it; only six mobile sportsbooks opened in the first two years with legal mobile wagering.
Rush Street Gaming based in Chicago which is the brick-and-mortar division of the parent company for PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers sportsbooks, is reported to have launched the first in-person and online books in the state. For DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, Caesars and Barstool, the Sportsbook opened in the following months.
Did you know that BetMGM was the seventh operating mobile sportsbook in the state which was launched around March 2022? This was a little while after the in-person registration requirement had been removed. It is expected that many more books will be opening in the future because the mandate has been done away with.
Unibet, Hard Rock, and WynnBet are reported to have applied for licenses to launch mobile sportsbooks in Chicago. The public is still in the dark concerning the go-live timeline, but these books are hoping to go live by the time the upcoming Super Bowl and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament are kicked off for this year’s season.
In the meantime, Bally Bet is all set for the launch of a mobile sportsbook which is a collaborative effort with a casino that is currently being set up near the Loop in the downtown area of Chicago. Bally’s is also planning to set up a retail book inside the casino premises. Another operator that has expressed interest in doing business in the area is Circa, which is held in high regard within the sports betting community due to its high limits for share bettors. In the past, the mention of Circa was in reference to its business in Colorado and Nevada.
Conclusion
An undisputed fact of the Illinois gambling market is that over 90% of the total state’s handle comes from online sports betting. The rising trend in this jurisdiction is that some of the most prominent retail books in the country are showing interest and rapid growth is expected. FanDuel appears to have an early lead because there are plans to launch an in-stadium sportsbook at the United Center before the end of the year. As for the competition, DraftKings is all set to open a sportsbook at the Chicago Cub’s iconic Wrigley Field before next year’s MLB season.
