Illinois Sports Betting Touches Highest-Ever Revenue Despite Dip in June Handle

Despite posting the lowest handle this year, and slipping to the third position in US sports betting, Illinois touched the highest revenue with $47.5 million in June. The state’s sportsbooks had generated $47.9 million in January, the all-time high revenue since the launch of sports betting in the state. June was the first month this year that Illinois sports betting failed to top $500 million in handle due to lack of sporting events in the calendar.

According to the figures released Thursday by the Illinois Gaming Board, the state’s sportsbooks posted $476.5 million in total handle in June, representing a 6.1% decline from May’s $507.3 million.

The Prairie State had seen its highest sports betting handle in March when the state’s sportsbooks amassed $633.6 million in total bets. The handle has continuously been dipping since.

How Did Illinois Almost Touch the Highest-Ever Revenue?

Though Illinois sports betting failed to continue its $500 million-plus monthly streak in June, the highest hold percentage on the traditional handle resulted in $47.5 million in gross wagering revenue.

It was the first time since the Prairie State launched sports betting in March 2020 that the sportsbooks’ win rate was 9.97%, the jump of three full percentages from May’s hold rate of 7.14%.

It was fair compensation for the state’s sportsbooks whose revenue rose 31.2% month-over-month. June’s revenue total was just $430,000 less than the all-time high of $47.9 million generated in January when the sportsbooks had set a hold of 8.24% to welcome the new year.

Another beneficiary of the higher-than-average hold in June was the state, which received over $7.1 million in tax, which is up 31.3% from May’s $5.35 million.

Illinois Slips to Third Place

Illinois sports betting slipped to third place in handle behind New Jersey and Nevada for the month of June. The Prairie State had been the runner-up for the months of April and May by topping Nevada, the traditional No. 2. New Jersey and Nevada have posted $767 million, and $545.4 million, respectively, in June handle.

Additionally, June handle also made Illinois the fourth state in the post-PASPA scenario to top $5 billion since the launch of regulated sports betting. New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania are the top three.

The Prairie State reached the benchmark in just 14 months, the second-fastest among the four. Silver State is the fastest to do so in 12 months.

Illinois has also become the fourth state to top $3 billion in handle in this year alone.

Mobile Handle Dominates Despite In-Person Registration

Illinois online sports betting handle was $451.7 million, or 94.8% of the total June handle. In May, the mobile handle was $482.5 million.

Before the reinstatement of an in-person registration requirement, mobile sports betting accounted for more than 95% of the market, meaning the return of the requirement affected the market little than expected.

In-person registration requirement forces new bettors to register at casinos and sportsbooks. During the pandemic last year, Gov. JB Pritzker had suspended that requirement and allowed the new bettors to register online. However, the condition returned at the beginning of April. Nevada is the only other state that has this requirement for new bettors.

The Prairie State saw $24.8 million in retail betting, slightly up from May’s $24.77 million.

DraftKings and FanDuel Dominate the Market

DraftKings and FanDuel dominated Illinois sports betting, accounting for 69.2% of the total online handle. The Boston-based operator reported $157.1 million to lead the market in terms of the individual handle. But FanDuel, which took in $155.3 million, led with $20.2 million in revenue.

The New York-based operator did so through single-game parlay offerings, which has become one of the most favorite options of the Illinois bettors. More than $101.3 million was placed on parlay wagering, which saw $23 million in revenue with a 22.69% win rate.

FanDuel became the first digital operator in Prairie State to amass $20 million in total monthly revenue thanks to an unbelievable 27.84% hold rate on parlay wagers. Overall, FanDuel saw a 12.96% hold.

DraftKings finished with a little more than $13.1 million in revenue, nearly double its previous month’s revenue. Parlays contributed 35.5% of that total at more than $4.6 million, good for a 16% hold rate.

BetRivers, and Others …

BetRivers was the distant third with $71 million in Illinois sports betting handle, while revenue was a little more than $6 million.

PointsBet was the fourth with $33.6 million in handle, replacing Barstool Sportsbook from the position which slid to the fifth spot at $28.9 million.

Caesars-owned William Hill, which does not offer parlays in Prairie State ended up with $5.5 million in handle for June and nearly $350,000 in revenue.