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After the Illinois Gaming Board announced almost $676.1 million in traditional handle for August, Illinois became the fourth state in the post-PASPA period to reach $25 billion in sports wagering handle. When excluding the months when retail-only betting was prohibited due to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, Illinois joins New Jersey, Nevada, and New York in that exclusive club after surpassing the threshold in 40 months of wagering. In the first eight months of 2023, Illinois gamblers placed $6.7 billion worth of wagers, with $980 million coming from land-based wagering.
For the first time since coming in second place to New York in January, Illinois’ handle in August was insufficient to surpass New Jersey for the No. 2 ranking nationally. Operators reported adjusted gross revenue of $46.9 million in August, a decrease of 1.8% from the corresponding month in 2022. Handle increased by 19.7% in comparison to the same period last year, while the 6.9% hold was down by more than 1.5 percentage points. For the first time since June 2022, Illinois operators fell short of the 7 percent industry level.
Operator taxes brought in by the state were well over $7 million, while Cook County’s separate 2 percent charge on revenue generated within its limits brought in close to $509,000. While the $90.3 million in state taxes is already running $25 million ahead of last year’s pace, the $602.2 million in AGR for the first eight months of the 2023 calendar year is 38.4% greater than the same period in 2022.
When it comes to parlay wagering, Illinois has traditionally been a state where the house has won, with FanDuel frequently leading the charge. In August, that underwent some alteration. The $24.6 million in operator revenue remained the single greatest source of winnings, but the statewide hold of 13.7 percent on such bets was the lowest it has been since falling below 10 percent in February 2022.
By its high standards in the gambling industry, FanDuel didn’t do as well as normal. Despite ending a 13-month streak of parlay win rates of 20% or above, its 17.6 percent hold still managed to take in $11.8 million from the $67.1 million handle. Three of the seven online bookmakers in the state had year-low parlay holds, with DraftKings posting a 10.2 percent mark and Caesars Sports being limited to 5.2 percent while earning just over $306,000 out of $5.9 million risked.
With a hold for parlays of 17.8% percent, BetMGM led all online books, while BetRivers finished third with a hold of slightly under 15%. While PENN Entertainment created a 7.5 percent hold as the former Barstool Sportsbook earned more than $638,000 from $8.5 million in accepted wagers, PointsBet finished in the center of the pack for parlay win rates at 12.3 percent.
FanDuel’s overall hold was negatively hurt by the parlay weakness, dropping below 8 percent in Illinois for the first time since just missing it in March 2022. With $17.3 million in income from $218.6 million in handled money from finished events, it continued to lead all mobile books.
DraftKings came in second place in terms of revenue, coming in at $15.8 million with a 6.7 percent win rate. With over $241.3 million in traditional handle, it was in first place among the seven mobile bookmakers, $18.6 million ahead of FanDuel.
The last podium slots in both categories were easily won by BetRivers, who earned $4.8 million off a $63.3 million handle for a 7.6 percent hold. Caesars took first place in the contest for the No. 4 position in traditional handling with $36.4 million, but the gap to last-place PENN Entertainment was much closer than in July because its handle increased 46.6 percent to $29.3 million.
Operators earned $6.3 million from baseball, one of four sports that generated seven-figure revenue totals, on the back of $206.2 million in handling. Live betting was probably a factor in the $89.1 million handle, which was second only to last August, as tennis remained a popular second choice for gamblers.
Nine retail books and three off-track betting locations in the state collectively brought in $1.6 million from $19.6 million in handle, or 8.3 percent hold. Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin was over $86,000 in the black on $1.3 million in handling, preventing it from suffering a third consecutive month of losses. The Caesars-based book suffered losses of over $145,000 in July and just over $7,000 in June.
With more than $476,000, Rivers Casino outperformed retail establishments, while Casino Queen, located across the Mississippi from St. Louis, exceeded $390,000. The only two locations to report six-figure revenue totals were Hollywood Casino in Joliet ($108,581) and Par-A-Dice Casino ($126,532) in Peoria. Alton Casino earned the third position with more than $313,000 in revenue.
