The US sports betting industry can put a slow July behind it now as Illinois sports betting figures rolled in last week.
Illinois is the last state to report its July sports betting figures, dropping to $369.1 million in handle during the month, according to an Illinois Gaming Board report. That number is down 22.5% from June‘s $476.5 million.
Illinois sports betting will likely start to rebound in August as bettors prepared for the NFL season. July was the state’s slowest month since September 2020, when Illinois recorded $305.2 million in handle.
Illinois sports betting revenue sinks
In July, Illinois sportsbooks generated $37.3 million in revenue, good for a 10.1% hold.
Revenue was down nearly 23% from June’s $48.2 million.
The state collected $5.6 million in taxes.
Illinois sportsbooks stay in line
DraftKings led the market with $122.7 million in handle, with FanDuel close behind at $118.5 million. BetRivers continues to be a distant third, drawing $68 million, including $9.3 million in retail bets.
FanDuel kept its revenue lead, generating $15.5 million.
The state’s in-person registration requirement is set to expire once the IGB awards the first online-only license in the state. That application period ends Dec. 3 and could welcome new operators to the state, like BetMGM, and could result in a significant handle bump.
| Brand | Total Handle | Online Handle | Revenue | Hold | Online Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $122.7 million | $120.5 million | $9.5 million | 7.7% | 34.3% |
| FanDuel | $118.5 million | $118.0 million | $15.5 million | 13.1% | 33.6% |
| BetRivers | $68.0 million | $58.7 million | $6.1 million | 9.0% | 16.7% |
| PointsBet | $28.5 million | $26.9 million | $2.6 million | 9.0% | 7.6% |
| Barstool Sportsbook | $23.5 million | $22.7 million | $2.2 million | 9.4% | 6.4% |
| William Hill | $5.3 million | $4.6 million | $853,946 | 16% | 1.4% |
Baseball steals the show
With not much else underway for most of July, MLB ruled the roost during the month. Illinois bettors wagered $124 million on baseball, or 33.6% of the month’s bets.
The Chicago White Sox have the state preparing for a playoff run, while the month saw the Chicago Cubs trade away a core of players that brought the city a historic World Series title in 2016.
The lack of a robust sports schedule is why July is often the worst month for the US sportsbooks.
Nationwide July sports betting picture
Illinois posted the third-highest July handle in the US sports betting landscape, behind New Jersey and Nevada. Every legal US sports betting market saw a dip in handle during the month, with the monthly national handle dropping 23.9%.
Revenue did not fair much better nationwide, dropping 20.5%. However, hold across US markets was 9.5%, the highest since October 2019.
Top 5 US markets in July by handle
- New Jersey: $578.7 million
- Nevada: $409.9 million
- Illinois: $369.1 million
- Pennsylvania: $304.4 million
- Michigan: $206.3 million
