Lower legal sports betting numbers in the Land of Lincoln were inevitable during the summer months, but Illinois still grew year-over-year in June.
A handle of $665.77 million was down 19% from May but up 5.9% from June 2022, according to figures from the Illinois Gaming Board. Revenue of $54.67 million took an even steeper month-over-month drop of 38.6%, but June’s profits were still up 33.6% year-over-year.
Illinois sports betting saw operators produce a hold of 8.2%, which was down 2.6 points from May. Online betting sites made up $647.7 million of the total handle and $53 million of the revenue, but retail sportsbooks held a higher hold of 9.1%, compared to 8.2% from mobile.
Tax revenue for the state also decreased from $14.5 million in the previous month to $8.2 million statewide. Cook County — which includes Chicago — took in $661,599 from operators in June.
New York was the only state in the U.S. to produce a higher handle than Land of Lincoln, which took in over $75 million more than third-place New Jersey. Illinois’ year-to-date handle has surpassed $5 billion, the state is closing in on $75 million in tax revenue for 2023.
DraftKings takes handle title, FanDuel wins in revenue
DraftKings has gained some ground on rival FanDuel in recent months in states like New York, and June saw sports betting in Illinois follow a similar trend.
DraftKings recorded the highest mobile handle in the state at $228.7 million, just ahead of FanDuel’s $221.4 million. However, DraftKings fell short of the lead in revenue as the $16.9 million followed up FanDuel’s $21.5 million, thanks to a state-best 9.7% hold.
BetRivers was third among mobile operators in Illinois with a win rate of over 9%, finishing with revenue of $5.1 million on a handle of $55.7 million. Caesars came in with a handle of $45.9 million and revenue of $2.6 million, edging out PointsBet ($2.4 million in revenue on $41 million in wagers).
Illinois sportsbooks will be getting even more competition as the gaming board recently approved licenses for Hard Rock Bet and Betway.
