One month after posting its topping a billion dollars in legal sports betting handle, Illinois doubled down by repeating the feat in November.
Figures recently reported by the Illinois Gaming Board show the state's retail and online sports betting sites handled about $1.03 billion in wagers during November — an almost identical number to October and marking the second consecutive month that sports betting in Illinois surpassed $1 billion in monthly handle.
While the wagering amount is nearly identical, the adjusted gross revenue took a slight decline, dipping by 3.3% to $148.8 million, due in part o the hold percentage slipping from 14.9% to 14.5%.
Even still, the taxes being paid to the state for the month amounted to $14.5 million, with just over $1 million also going to Cook County, where Chicago is located.
As is unsurprisingly the case, mobile betting is the preferred method of wagering in the Prairie State, with online bets accounting for the vast majority (96.1%) of the handle — almost $990 million.
FanDuel remains on top
The back-and-both battle between DraftKings and FanDuel continued into November, with the NY-based FanDuel generating $344.9 million in wagers (a 5% increase), against topping DraftKings' number ($324 million, down <1%) for the second straight month.
FanDuel also led the way with $67.7 million in AGR (DraftKings posted $39.9 million), with the two titans accounting for 64.9% of the statewide handle and 72.3% of the AGR.
Football — both professional and college — again led the way in November, comprising $289.3 million in handle for the month — a sharp 19.2% decline from the previous month, which came due to the massive increase in basketball betting.
Hoops wagers went from $114.4 million in October to $260.7 million in November, a 128% increase, with tennis ($71.1 million) and soccer ($64.5 million) after that.
Parlays also accounted for a large chunk of the month, accounting for $248.3 million of the state's overall action.
