Records are made to be broken in the Land of Lincoln.
The Illinois Gaming Board announced an October handle of $1.17 billion, which broke the previous state record of $1.08 billion set in September.
It marked the seventh month Illinois has posted a billion-dollar handle, and only New York and New Jersey recorded higher handles in the U.S. market.
One of the reasons for the rise in wagering was the options. With the NFL, college football, NHL, NBA, and MLB playoffs all coinciding, October has been a good month in the past for Illinois, which took in $1 billion in wagers in 2022.
Adjusted gross revenue in Land of Lincoln also jumped 10% year-over-year in October 2023. Operators hauled in $112.7 million, up 31% month-over-month, with a hold of 9.7%
Online sports betting alone made up $1.13 billion of the overall handle while retail sportsbooks brought in $6.4 million in wagers.
Illinois operators paid out nearly $17 million in taxes with Cook County, which encompasses Chicago, getting $1.2 million.
DraftKings, FanDuel go big
DraftKings and FanDuel combined to take in over $800 million in October handle.
DraftKings set a new mark with a handle of $426.5 million. FanDuel finished second with $399.7 million wagerd but eclipsed $43 million in adjusted gross revenue, about $5 million more than DraftKings.
BetRivers landed third in Illinois with a handle of $90.3 million. Caesars posted the fourth-best handle of $65.5 million while PointsBet edged out BetMGM $49.7 million to $49.5 million.
Coming and going
Circa Sports was introduced to Illinois bettors in the final three days of September. The online sportsbook produced a handle of $8.8 million but took a loss of $28,534 in its first full month.
Barstool completed its final month in Illinois as PENN Enertainment’s platform, recording a $36.6 million handle and $2.5 million of revenue. ESPN BET took over as PENN’s new brand in the middle of November.
