The Illinois sports betting market has been growing at an alarming rate. So much so that Illinois most recently produced a monthly revenue that almost eclipsed New Jersey, which is by far the most mature sports betting market in the country. The sports betting revenue in Illinois so far has reached $344 million. This is an increase of more than 34% compared to the $256 million that was generated in 2021.
When both local and state taxes are combined, this year sportsbooks in Illinois have managed to generate close to $55 million in tax revenue. In the first 6 months of 2021, the state produced taxes worth $41 million. As such, Illinois’ gambling market has so far experienced an improvement of 34% as far as tax revenue is concerned.
Although the first 6 months of 2022 have been exemplary, to say the least, the sports betting market in the state has been experiencing a slump over the last 3 months or so. Since March, the monthly sports betting handle has reduced by 35%. This March, the Illinois Gaming Board reported a records sports betting handle of more than $971 million.
In March, it is said that the NBA action, as well as the 2022 NCAA Tournament, helped to fuel the highest monthly total for the state. It is worth noting that the $971 million handle recorded in March 2022 still stands as one of the highest monthly totals recorded outside of Nevada, New York, or New Jersey in the post-PASPA Supreme Court ruling era.
In March, basketball accounted for approximately $540 million. Gross sports betting revenue reached close to $62 million while state taxes were just a little under $9.1 million. But by June 2022, the handle recorded by Illinois had declined for the 3rd straight month.
In June 2022, punters in Illinois wagered slightly more than $628 million on various sports. This amount was 35% lower than the record $971 million that sports punters in the state placed in March and 25% lower than the $839 million that was wagered in April.
Of course, the decline can mostly be attributed to the limited summer sports schedule. During the summer, all the most popular cash-generating sports leagues are typically on a break including NHL, NFL, and the NBA. The only major sport that’s generally available to wager on is Major League Baseball. So, as you can expect, most of the handle generated in Illinois this June can be attributed to baseball.
In June, punters in the state wagered more than $222 million. Another sport that has helped to raise revenue during the slower sports betting months has been tennis. Punters in the state placed almost $87 million in tennis wagers. This was an increase of close to 23% over the $71 million that state residents wagered in May this year.
Of the sportsbooks in Illinois, FanDuel and DraftKings emerged as the top producers. FanDuel Illinois Sportsbook managed to produce an excess of $201 million in handle in June. This resulted in total revenue of $16 million.
On the other hand, the Illinois DraftKings Sportsbook handle surpassed $185 million, which produced a revenue of close to $11 million. Combined, DraftKings and FanDuel generated a total handle worth handle of $386 million, as well as a revenue of $27 million. BetRivers trailed FanDuel and Draftkings with a handle of $60,399,310 and revenue of $4,273,432.
The remaining books namely PointsBet ($52,453,333), BetMGM ($37,565,794), BarStool ($35,549,144) and Caesars ($32,704,603) contributed to the final tally of $604,956,513. Even though Illinois’’ revenue and handle have been on the decline since the beginning of June, the trends have been downward for most other operators across the country.
What we cover
Brick and mortar casinos in Illinois starting to recover
As far as traditional gaming in Illinois is concerned, Rivers Casino has consistently emerged as the biggest performer. Rivers’ retail sportsbook accounts for almost half of the in-person handle that is produced by any brick-and-mortar venue in the state. On the Western side of Illinois, Casino Queen has been generating the second-highest handle while Argosy Casino Alton rounds out the top 3 positions.
The good news is that casinos in the state finally appear to be returning to normal following 2 pandemic-ridden years. In 2019, the Illinois Gaming Board recorded a total handle of $778 million for the 10 casinos operating in the state. At the beginning of 2020, casinos in the state were forced to shut down between March 16 and June 30.
The closure of the casinos accounted for the largest factor in the revenue decline of more than 55%. In the first 6 months of 2020, brick-and-mortar establishments in the state produced more than $333 million. The numbers started to improve slightly in 2020 although continued pandemic restrictions prevented gamblers from going all out.
In 2021, revenue generated by the state’s casinos reached $650 million, which was an increase of more than 95% compared to the same period last year. This year, casinos in the state produced more than $773 million. This year, there are 11 casinos compared to 2019’s 10 casinos.
The Illinois Gaming Board also records that combined attendance in the 11 casinos has almost mostly returned to normal this year. In 2019, casinos recorded an attendance of 5,998,667. By 2020, this number had dwindled to 2,528,509. During the first 6 months of 2022, the casino attendance numbers have clearly rebounded reaching 5,157,897, which is slightly lower than what was recorded in 2019.
Before too long, casinos in the state will surpass the numbers recorded in 2019, which is a clear indication that the state’s casinos are recovering well. Plus, the state is currently in the midst of a casino boom. In the coming months, new casinos are expected in various parts of the state including in Williamson Country, Waukegan, Danville, as well as the South Suburbs.
Final Thoughts
The summer slowdown that takes place each year kicked off in June, which explains why the sports betting handle and revenue have been experiencing a slump. The good news is that online sports betting is starting to pick up with the return of the busy NFL season. As such, sportsbooks in the Land of Lincoln should start generating bigger handles as the year starts to wind down.
