Sports betting records continued to fall in Illinois in late 2024.
The Illinois Gaming Board reported a November handle of $1.53 billion, the most ever wagered for the second consecutive month. Sports betting operator revenue of $154.6 million also set a new monthly high and eclipsed the previous record of $137.2 million from September 2024.
Action in Illinois during a high-volume sports month that included NFL, college football, NBA, NHL, and college basketball increased 11.3% year-over-year. Revenue jumped 112.6% from November 2023.
The 10.1% hold in November reached double digits for the fourth time in 2024 and nearly doubled the win rate from the same month of the previous year.
Online sportsbooks accounted for $1.49 billion of the Land of Lincoln handle and produced a 10.1% hold while retail sports betting operators generated $39.2 million in wagers and $3 million in revenue.
Illinois sports betting generated $48.2 million in tax revenue, while Cook County received $1.5 million from sports betting in the Chicago area.
Monthly improvement
Illinois operators rallied in November. With NFL favorites winning unprecedentedly during a stretch in October, year-over-year revenue fell by 27.8%.
Profits jumped 90% from October to November on a handle improvement of 6%. Sports betting operators produced a 2.8% hold on football wagers and an 8.6% win rate on parlays, the lowest in more than four years.
In November, football accounted for $25.2 million of the total revenue, thanks to a 61% hold, while parlays reached a nearly 20% win rate to make sportsbooks $93.7 million.
Big profits
| Operator | November Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $527.1 million | $57.3 million |
| FanDuel | $512.4 million | $54.7 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $118.7 million | $11.4 million |
| BetRivers | $85.4 million | $8.9 million |
| BetMGM | $78.3 million | $6.6 million |
| Caesars | $64.7 million | $4.4 million |
DraftKings set Illinois monthly records with a $527.1 million handle and revenue of $57.3 million. FanDuel wasn’t far behind with $512.4 million in wagers and $54.7 million in profits, the most it has ever hauled in as an Illinois operator.
The two leading operators in the Illinois market both set revenue highs without producing double-digit holds.
Fanatics Sportsbook also set a new mark for the online sportsbook with $11.4 million in revenue and finished third with a handle of $118.7 million. BetRivers placed fourth with an $85.4 million handle while also increasing its revenue by 81% month-over-month.
BetMGM and Caesars were the only other sportsbooks to surpass $60 million in wagers and both saw month-over-month revenue increases. ESPN BET generated a November handle of $54.1 million, a 20.4% decrease from October.
Hard Rock Bet took in $38.5 million in wagers while Circa Sports recorded a $13.9 million handle. Both produced win rates below 7%.
Better than 2023
With one more month to report for 2024, Illinois is on pace to shatter the previous year’s betting numbers. The Land of Lincoln has already surpassed $12.5 billion in wagers through November. That’s nearly $1 billion more than all 12 months of 2023.
Sports betting operators have already produced 27% more revenue in 2024, thanks to 22% more wagers and a slightly higher hold than in 2023. The state has collected over $228 million in tax revenue through November.
