Illinois Rises To Second In Sports Betting Revenue, Falls To Third In Handle

Written By Dave Briggs on November 15, 2022 - Last Updated on November 16, 2022
In figures released late Monday, Illinois rose to second in the nation in sports betting revenue in 2022, but fell to third in total handle.

NFL betting in September has helped propel the Illinois sports betting industry over New Jersey into second place in year-to-date revenue. Though, Illinois fell from second to third place in terms of sports betting handle (total betting).

That’s PlayIllinois‘ analysis of the latest numbers released late Monday by the Illinois Gaming Board.

In 2022, the Prairie State has posted gross gaming revenue through September of more than $536 million. That’s $19 million more than New Jersey’s revenue of $517 million. New York leads with revenue of nearly $928 million.

Though, in terms of year-to-date handle, the order swaps. Illinois fell from second to third in September with over $6.6 billion bet on sports in the state, behind New Jersey (over $7.7 billion) and New York (over $11.5 billion).

Battle for sports betting's #2 ranking between Illinois and New Jersey
In September alone, Illinois was also third with handle of more than $831.8 million, behind New Jersey (over $866.7 million) and New York (over $1.26 billion).

New Jersey is home to two NFL teams.

In August, the Prairie State racked up handle of nearly $565 million, $8 million more than New Jersey.

NFL pushes Illinois sports betting up 47% in September

The start of the NFL season in September clearly had a huge impact on sports betting in the state. Month-over-month, Illinois sports betting handle rose nearly $267 million or 47%.

Meanwhile, Illinois sports betting revenue was up 29% from August figures.

Illinois sportsbooks produced revenue of more than $83.5 million in September alone. For the month, that ranks third behind New Jersey (nearly $98 million) and New York (over $145 million). That’s up from more than $64.6 million in Illinois in August, which was up 9% from July numbers.

Illinois sports betting revenue – September 2022

LicenseeOnline BrandHandleRevenueHoldTaxes
Casino Queen East St. LouisDraftKings$291,927,647$19,202,8446.6%$3,262,322
Fairmount ParkFanDuel$240,902,672$38,178,09315.8%$5,781,550
Rivers Des PlainesBetRivers$102,895,669$9,149,4828.9%$1,425,958
HawthornePointsBet$57,376,238$3,895,6706.8%$428,492
Par-A-DiceBetMGM$46,349,325$3,896,4518.4%$503,854
Hollywood AuroraBarstool$46,201,921$4,464,7249.7%$636,589
Grand VictoriaCaesars$40,461,441$3,770,5189.3%$430,743
Argosy$4,238,393$648,16615.3%$54,738
Hollywood Joliet$1,452,683$327,85122.6%$35,439
Total$831,805,990$83,533,80110.0%$12,559,685

Prairie State ranks second in the US in tax revenue

Illinois citizens are clearly benefitting from a regulated, legal sports betting industry.

The state ranks second in 2022 in terms of tax revenue from sports betting. Illinois sportsbooks have produced over $82.5 million in state and local taxes through September in 2022. That’s behind New York (over $471 million), but ahead of New Jersey (over $72.6 million).

Illinois sportsbooks have produced over $187 million in tax revenue since the industry launched in the state in March 2020. That ranks third behind more mature sports betting markets in New Jersey (over $292 million) and Pennsylvania (over $313 million).

More billion-dollar milestones ahead in Illinois

In August, Illinois sportsbooks first exceeded $1 billion in gross gaming revenue from online activity only since sports betting was launched 29 months prior. That number is now north of $1.2 billion.

In July, figures showed gross betting revenue from IL sportsbooks — counting physical and online sports betting together — surpassed $1 billion lifetime.

Now PlayIllinois is predicting Illinois will post record handle exceeding $1 billion in October alone.

For all of 2022, we strongly believe Illinois will fall just shy of the $10 billion mark.

The growth is mostly attributable to a change in legislation.

In March of this year, legislation came into effect allowing Illinois residents to sign-up online for sportsbooks, rather than doing so at one of the state’s land-based casinos. The decision to allow residents to register online with one of the state’s seven legal sportsbooks has been a boon to the industry.

Expected to surpass Pennsylvania soon

With more sportsbooks coming to Illinois, the future is bright for the industry. The Prairie State is ever closer to surpassing Pennsylvania and jumping into third place in terms of lifetime sports betting revenue and handle.

Lifetime sports betting revenue ranking:

  1. New Jersey — $2,123,552,899
  2. Nevada — $1,530,219,000
  3. Pennsylvania — $1,284,279,656
  4. Illinois — $1,207,751,921
  5. New York — $969,865,779

Lifetime sports betting handle:

  1. New Jersey — $30,497,583,224
  2. Nevada — $26,730,516,808
  3. Pennsylvania — $16,550,951,863
  4. Illinois — $15,567,870,563
  5. New York — $11,899,955,063

Sports betting exceeds $160 billion in lifetime handle nationwide

Lifetime, the 26 states that have legal sports betting have produced combined handle exceeding $160.5 billion through September. Revenue has exceeded $12 billion and total tax revenue is on the cusp of hitting $2 billion.

In 2022 alone, total handle has now exceeded $63 billion. Total revenue this year is more than $4.9 billion. Combined tax revenue is just about to hit $1 billion for the year.

Photo by Shutterstock
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Dave Briggs

Dave Briggs is a managing editor and writer for Catena Media. His expertise is covering the gambling industry in North America with an emphasis on the casino, sports betting, horse racing and poker sectors. He is currently reporting on the gaming industries in Illinois and Canada.

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