Illinois sportsbooks started 2024 the same way they ended 2023 — routing the public en route to a record revenue haul.
The Illinois Gaming Board reported a record $135.2 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for January on Wednesday, the second straight month operators set an all-time high for winnings. Three of the four instances Illinois sportsbooks have generated $100 million in revenue have occurred in the last four months.
The total was 5.3% higher than the 10.8% win rate last May and second-highest in 45 months of wagering in state history.
FanDuel was at the center of the winnings with a state record of $59.4 million, smashing its previous standard of $51.5 million established in December, and becoming the first mobile sportsbook to sur $1 billion in all-time revenue in Illinois. The 13.7% hold was its best in Illinois since attaining a win rate just shy of 15% in September 2022.
Revenue from Illinois’ eight sports betting apps totaled $131.6 million, while retail books added another $3.6 million. That adjusted revenue does not count the $351,600 loss absorbed by the brick-and-mortar Argosy Casino sportsbook in Alton.
The state saw a $20 million monthly inflow of tax revenue into coffers for the first time, with January’s $20.3 million over $1 million more than December. Had the 35% rate Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker proposed in his state budget last month been in place, tax revenue would have totaled $47.3 million.
Cook County, which includes Chicago and levies a separate 2% tax on AGR generated within the county limits, claimed $1.4 million in receipts.
Another big month for parlays, but football as well 3j6gj
JANUARY Top 10 #SportsBetting handles by state:
1 New York $1.97B
2 New Jersey $1.72B
3 ILLINOIS $1.29B
4 Penn. $858.2M
5 Ohio $811.6M
6 Nevada $782.8M
7 Arizona $706.4M
8 Virginia $652.9M
9 Mass. $651.7M
10 Michigan $601.6M#SportsBettingX #GamblingX— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) March 27, 2024
The rash of upsets in the same-game parlays in Illinois. Revenue from the multi-leg wagers reached an eye-watering, all-time monthly high of $86.7 million.
The statewide hold on parlays was 24%, the highest since a 26.6% win rate in November 2021. The record revenue came despite a 7.8% decline in parlay handle from December to $361.1 million.
FanDuel again shined in this betting vertical, but all eight mobile books did — BetMGM had the lowest hold of the group at a still-robust 16.3%. FanDuel, though, again took it to a stratospheric level by cashing $42.6 million worth of busted tickets while putting together a 26.7% hold against $159.6 million handle.
It was another all-time state high in parlay revenue for the digital leviathan, keeping $4 of every $15 wagered while toppling its previous standard of $38.8 million established in December.
FanDuel’s long shadow cast with its parlay dominance again obscured another all-time monthly high by its eternal rival DraftKings. It collected $28.2 million in winnings from $116.9 million worth of multi-leg bets in notching a 24.2% hold for January — its highest in the discipline in Illinois.
ESPN BET had an 18.4% win rate in collecting $3.6 million in parlay revenue, but that was where most of the success stopped for the PENN Entertainment-powered mobile book. ESPN BET absorbed a $1.4 million loss in the catch-all “other” category and paid out $380,080 above its $39.3 million basketball handle. The result was ESPN BET’s parlay revenue ed for all but $63,800 of its total January winnings.
Football was the other primary source of Illinois sportsbook revenue in January as operators collected $22.7 million in winnings while posting an 8.9% hold from $256.5 million worth of wagers. FanDuel again notched its all-time best for revenue with $10.1 million as it fashioned a 13.5% win rate against $75 million handle.
DraftKings had just over half that amount — $5.2 million — despite a $92.5 million handle that was 23.4% higher compared to FanDuel.
Three other mobile sportsbooks in addition to FanDuel set all-time monthly highs for overall revenue. DraftKings had its first back-to-back months with $40 million in winnings, landing at $44.2 million with a 9.9% hold from a state-leading $446.6 million handle.
BetMGM sured $5 million in revenue for the first time, clearing the benchmark by $28,148 and posting an 8.4% win rate. Caesars rounded out the record-setters with $4.9 million, claiming a 6.8% hold from $71.9 million.
DraftKings and FanDuel also shared another Illinois milestone in January as both sured $10 billion in all-time mobile handle. While DraftKings has generated $348.5 million more worth of action, FanDuel has amassed $332.2 more in revenue thanks to a 10.2% hold that is 3.5 percentage points higher than its long-time rival.
Brick-and-mortar books dragged down by Argosy 2t5i3b
Even with Argosy Casino’s six-figure loss, the $3.2 million in gross revenue still provided an 8.7% hold against $37.4 million handle. Rivers Casino in Des Plaines ed for nearly half the operator winnings, totaling $1.5 million on the strength of an 11.1% hold. Casino Queen in East St. Louis was a distant second with $782,600 in winnings but had a solid 12.5% win rate.
Hawthorne Race Course, which has three off-track betting locations where retail sports wagers can be placed, rounded out the podium spots for revenue with $493,900. It had a 15% hold on $3.3 million handle, which ranked fourth among the 12 brick-and-mortar licensees.
