Illinois Sports Betting Steams Toward End Of Archaic Signup Rule


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Illinois sports betting

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.

OperatorOnline HandleTotal RevenueHoldOnline Market Share
DraftKings$146.6 million$7.3 million4.9%39%
FanDuel$110.9 million$9.3 million8.3%29%
BetRivers$64.8 million$4.6 million7.1%17%
PointsBet$27.3 million$1.9 million6.9%7%
Barstool$25.5 million$2.1 million8.2%7%
Caesars$5.2 million$198,9833.8%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.