Baseball continued to drive Illinois sports betting in August as football warmed up.
Illinois sportsbooks took $400.4 million in bets, according to an Illinois Gaming Board report. As with most US sports betting markets, that was a significant jump from the slow month of July, in which IL sports betting handled $369.1 million.
August marked another month Illinois was among the top three US sports betting states, trailing only New Jersey’s $664.6 million handle.
Illinois revenue declines
Despite the more than 8% increase in handle from July, the $26.8 million in revenue was down nearly 29% from July’s $37.6 million.
August’s revenue represents a 6.7% hold for sportsbooks in the state.
Illinois collected $4.3 million in taxes.
Baseball paces IL sports betting
With football just starting to warm up in August, baseball drew $139.6 million in bets.
That is approximately 35% of the month’s handle, similar to the 33.6% baseball secured in July.
Parlays were not far behind, taking $127 million in wagers.
DraftKings keeps Illinois sports betting crown
Online sports betting accounted for approximately 95% of the Illinois market in August, or $380.3 million.
DraftKings Sportsbook accounted for $146.6 million of the online handle, or 39%. FanDuel Sportsbook maintained second place with $110.9 million.
BetRivers Sportsbook kept its third spot in the state, handling $64.8 million in bets.
| Operator | Online Handle | Total Revenue | Hold | Online Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $146.6 million | $7.3 million | 4.9% | 39% |
| FanDuel | $110.9 million | $9.3 million | 8.3% | 29% |
| BetRivers | $64.8 million | $4.6 million | 7.1% | 17% |
| PointsBet | $27.3 million | $1.9 million | 6.9% | 7% |
| Barstool | $25.5 million | $2.1 million | 8.2% | 7% |
| Caesars | $5.2 million | $198,983 | 3.8% | 1% |
2022 Illinois sportsbook bump coming?
September will likely see Illinois handle jump significantly as NFL betting returns. Iowa sports betting already turned in a record month in September, drawing $210 million in bets.
Iowa’s September jump also can be attributed to its first football season without in-person registration requirements. That could be a signal to the future in Illinois, which will see its in-person rule expire within months.
The requirement expires once the IGB awards the first license for an online-only sportsbook, which could come in December.
