Illinois is the fastest-growing sports betting market in the US, and operators are reaping the benefits.
As of now, there are five mobile sportsbooks and eight retail sportsbooks in the Land of Lincoln. More are on the way, but Illinois already has some of the market’s top brands.
In the beginning, BetRivers dominated the IL sports betting landscape. It was the first retail and mobile sportsbook to launch in the state and had a significant head start in customer acquisition.
BetRivers carved out an 84% market share in August, when no other book was online for the full month. In September, though, DraftKings and FanDuel made up serious ground.
Then, in October, DraftKings overtook BetRivers for the No. 1 sportsbook in terms of handle. With that said, BetRivers still led the state in revenue.
As of now, DraftKings, BetRivers and FanDuel have a significant lead over PointsBet and William Hill. But will that change as the market matures?
Here are the numbers on every sportsbook since legal sports betting launched in Illinois in 2020, followed by monthly breakdowns.
All-time Illinois sportsbooks numbers
| Licensee | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Total Revenue | Total Tax | Total Wagers | Online Wagers | Retail Wagers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | $932,381,302.25 | $865,356,518.04 | $67,024,784.21 | $59,894,933.93 | $9,677,567.53 | 26,133,313 | 25,246,221 | 887,092 |
| BetRivers Sportsbook | $398,099,275.21 | $355,268,646.40 | $42,830,628.81 | $28,733,997.26 | $4,691,467.32 | 8,004,454 | 7,729,464 | 274,990 |
| DraftKings at Casino Queen | $253,821,559.04 | $247,525,588.96 | $6,295,970.08 | $12,361,804.03 | $1,973,937.31 | 9,325,002 | 9,216,695 | 108,307 |
| FanDuel Sportsbook | $188,380,707.35 | $187,852,803.85 | $527,903.50 | $11,142,088.17 | $1,788,846.32 | 7,687,488 | 7,679,820 | 7,668 |
| PointsBet Sportsbook | $69,653,895.93 | $69,104,042.83 | $549,853.10 | $5,285,838.09 | $864,317.17 | 572,996 | 567,229 | 5,767 |
| Sportsbook at Argosy Casino Alton (retail only) | $8,656,178.00 | $- | $8,656,178.00 | $819,531.69 | $122,929.75 | 312,507 | 0 | 312,507 |
| William Hill Sportsbook | $8,402,469.95 | $5,605,436.00 | $2,797,033.95 | $737,649.00 | $113,965.80 | 73,875 | 53,013 | 20,862 |
| Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino Joliet (retail only) | $2,897,353.47 | $- | $2,897,353.47 | $383,490.31 | $57,523.55 | 83,988 | 0 | 83,988 |
| Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino Aurora (retail only) | $2,469,863.30 | $- | $2,469,863.30 | $430,535.38 | $64,580.31 | 73,003 | 0 | 73,003 |
October 2020
| Licensee | Online Brand | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Total Revenue | State Tax | Local Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casino Queen | DraftKings | $141,416,340 | $138,474,252 | $2,942,087 | $13,207,233 | $1,722,457 | $115,342 |
| Rivers | BetRivers | $115,497,756 | $101,546,001 | $13,951,755 | $13,131,663 | $1,939,860 | $170,938 |
| Par-A-Dice | FanDuel | $105,571,911 | $105,235,658 | $336,253 | $12,521,849 | $1,671,313 | $116,422 |
| Hawthorne | PointsBet | $60,777,714 | $60,250,110 | $527,605 | $5,550,739 | $767,989 | $71,314 |
| Grand Victoria | William Hill | $5,600,506 | $4,274,205 | $1,326,301 | $1,563,631 | $92,243 | $3,223 |
| Argosy | N/A | $3,058,668 | $0 | $3,058,668 | $394,523 | $59,180 | $0 |
| Hollywood Joliet | N/A | $1,429,774 | $0 | $1,429,774 | $275,873 | $33,295 | $0 |
| Hollywood Aurora | N/A | $1,214,434 | $0 | $1,214,434 | $322,313 | $43,708 | $0 |
| Total | $434,567,103 | $409,780,227 | $24,786,876 | $46,967,823 | $6,330,045 | $477,239 |
September 2020
| Licensee | Online Brand | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Total Revenue | State Tax | Local Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers | BetRivers | $112,719,576 | $98,599,684 | $14,119,892 | $6,771,455 | $893,757 | $80,979 |
| Casino Queen | DraftKings | $98,316,259 | $95,920,730 | $2,395,529 | $2,045,757 | $33,263 | $0 |
| Par-A-Dice | FanDuel | $78,568,310 | $78,376,659 | $191,651 | $1,498,339 | $0 | $1,111 |
| Hawthorne | PointsBet | $8,876,182 | $8,853,933 | $22,249 | $478,710 | $24,887 | $128 |
| Argosy | N/A | $2,297,279 | $0 | $2,297,279 | $160,525 | $24,077 | $0 |
| Grand Victoria | William Hill | $2,216,866 | $1,331,231 | $885,635 | $496,215 | $12,173 | $95 |
| Hollywood Joliet | N/A | $1,141,444 | $0 | $1,141,444 | $158,037 | $20,160 | $0 |
| Hollywood Aurora | N/A | $1,088,023 | $0 | $1,088,023 | $145,492 | $17,276 | $0 |
| Total | $305,223,938 | $283,082,238 | $22,141,701 | $11,754,530 | $1,025,593 | $82,312 |
August 2020
| Licensee | Online Brand | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Total Revenue | State Tax | Local Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers | BetRivers | $117,967,144 | $106,598,369 | $11,368,775 | $6,317,289 | $939,219 | $87,426 |
| Casino Queen | DraftKings | $14,088,960 | $13,130,606 | $958,354 | $974,110 | $98,551 | $4,325 |
| Par-A-Dice | FanDuel | $4,240,486 | $4,240,486 | $0 | -$16,378 | $0 | $0 |
| Argosy | N/A | $2,690,418 | $0 | $2,690,418 | $222,250 | $33,339 | $0 |
| Grand Victoria | N/A | $585,098 | $0 | $585,098 | $83,565 | $6,231 | $0 |
| Hollywood Joliet | N/A | $326,136 | $0 | $326,136 | $35,711 | $4,068 | $0 |
| Hollywood Aurora | N/A | $167,406 | $0 | $167,406 | $26,942 | $3,596 | $0 |
| Total | $140,065,649 | $123,969,462 | $16,096,187 | $7,643,489 | $1,085,004 | $91,750 |
July 2020
| Licensee | Online Brand | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Total Revenue | State Tax | Local Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers | BetRivers | $51,914,799 | $48,524,592 | $3,390,207 | $4,658,783 | $537,264 | $42,025 |
| Argosy | N/A | $609,813 | $0 | $609,813 | $110,401 | $6,334 | $0 |
| Total | $52,524,612 | $48,524,592 | $4,000,020 | $4,769,184 | $543,598 | $42,025 |
Pandemic gives Illinois sportsbooks a boost
The ongoing pandemic is causing a recession in the US. But odd as it sounds, it’s helped the Illinois sports betting market.
That’s because the Illinois Gaming Act mandated that all users go to a casino to sign up for an online sportsbook. Due to the health emergency, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has suspended that registration requirement. That’s allowed people to register remotely since June, save for a few weeks in July and August.
It’s hard to say with certainty what monthly handle numbers would look like if the in-person registration were still in place. But it’s fair to assume that they wouldn’t be as gaudy as they are now.
Where does the Illinois sports betting market go from here?
The Illinois market is still far from maturity, but BetRivers, DraftKings and FanDuel have emerged as market leaders.
It will be fascinating to see how the market evolves in the coming months. BetRivers has dominated early on, but unsurprisingly, DraftKings and FanDuel are firing after a few months of being live.
PointsBet and William Hill Sports are lagging behind as of now, though the former made huge progress in October. And based on how much sports betting interest there is in Illinois, there is certainly room for them to close the gap on the top three.
Also, we should see some new operators in 2021.
Unibet, Barstool and BetMGM sports betting all aim to launch in the Prairie State in 2021. Once they do, Illinois sports bettors will have even more sports betting options.
