Despite lackluster revenue for sports betting operators, Illinois still saw significant year-over-year growth in August.
The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) reported a monthly handle of $878 million, up 30% from last August, while adjusted revenue of $59.2 million spiked 26% year-over-year.
The 6.7% hold was down slightly from the 6.9% produced from the previous August, but the win rate for online and retail sportsbooks on gross revenue of $71.8 million at least reached 8%.
Early college football games and the NFL preseason generated $80.8 million in wagers to help the handle rise 13.5% compared to July, but the win rate that fell nearly 2.5 points led to a 17% month-over-month drop in revenue.
Baseball led all sports with a handle of $236.3 million while basketball generated $53.6 million in wagers.
Tax progression
Land of Lincoln’s new progressive tax rate entered its second month.
Illinois filled its coffers with $13.6 million, up from $7 million in August 2023. Sports betting operators generated $508,993 for Cook County from Chicago-area wagering.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed the law in June allowing the IGB to create thresholds of tax rates on operators based on progressive adjusted revenue. The rates start at 20% on revenue of $30 million or less and increase 5% each level to 40% on adjusted revenue of $200 million or more.
FanDuel became the first online sports betting operator to reach the 30% tax bracket in August while DraftKings moved up to 25%.
DraftKings finishes first
| Operator | August Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $328.4 million | $22.3 million |
| FanDuel | $266.5 million | $21.6 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $62.7 million | $3.6 million |
| BetRivers | $60.1 million | $4.4 million |
| BetMGM | $47.1 million | $2.1 million |
| Caesars | $41.3 million | $1.9 million |
Online Illinois sports betting accounted for $852.8 million of the state's total wagering during August.
DraftKings led all operators with a handle of $328.4 million while also pacing the field with $22.3 million in revenue. FanDuel’s better hold of 8.1% on a $266.5 million handle led to $21.6 million in revenue.
Fanatics Sportsbook produced its best month since launching in April, holding off BetRivers for third place with a handle of $62.7 million. BetRivers won the revenue battle, though, hauling in $4.4 million on a $60.1 million handle.
BetMGM generated $47.1 million in wagers to beat out Caesars by nearly $6 million. Both operators produced a hold below 5%.
ESPN BET was the only other operator to cross $30 million in handle while Circa Sports generated $13 million in wagers.
Hard Rock debuts
Hard Rock launched its online and retail sportsbook in Illinois in late August. The newcomer became the ninth mobile operator in the Land of Lincoln. Hard Rock Bet, is also live in New Jersey, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Hard Rock generated $1.6 million in handle and produced $10,100 in revenue in its first six days.
