Illinois 2nd-Best Sports Betting State in America in April

Illinois had a successful April in its legal sports betting industry, placing second in sports betting handle, revenues, and taxes behind New York.

Despite the absence of NFL, local NBA or NHL teams in the playoffs, and only three March Madness games played in April, Illinois successfully offset month-over-month declines and experienced year-over-year growth in its sports betting sector.

After accounting for April’s numbers, Illinois achieved a significant milestone by becoming the third state to surpass a lifetime sports betting handle of $22.5 billion.

April handle in Illinois

Illinois sports bettors wagered $898.6 million at the top sports betting sites in the state during April. This placed Illinois in second behind New York, which had a handle of about $250 million more. However, Illinois was ahead of third-place New Jersey by $65 million and significantly ahead of Nevada, which ranked fourth with a $300 million difference.

Illinois sports betting apps accounted for nearly 89% of the Land of Lincoln handle.

In April, the state’s handle fell just short of $1 billion for only the second time in the last seven months. Betting in April totaled $898.6 million, which is 16.2% lower than the record $1.072 billion handle from March, but surprisingly up 7.1% compared to the $839.4 million from April 2022.

Illinois’ April sports betting revenues

In April, Illinois’s legal sports betting industry saw solid revenues, although they fell short of the record profits seen in March. Illinois sportsbooks reported approximately $81.4 million in revenues, with a 9% hold. The adjusted gross revenues for April totaled $89.5 million.

The sportsbook revenues of $81.4 million in April ranked second only to New York, which reported $139 million. This amount was a decrease from the $107.4 million in revenues reported in March, which saw record handles and revenues due to March Madness.

Underscoreg revenues in Illinois increased by a notable 27% year-over-year, climbing from the $68.2 million reported in April 2022.

Illinois sports betting apps paid approximately $14.4 million in taxes to state and local coffers, ranking second in the nation for tax contributions in April. New York led with $71 million in tax contributions.

In the first quarter of 2023, the majority of U.S. legal sports betting jurisdictions experienced a decrease compared to the previous year. However, Illinois and New York were exceptions to this trend, with Illinois showing growth and New York being the only other state to do so.

The booming market in New Jersey has been impacted by the emergence of legal sports betting in New York, while Ohio and Arizona have also seen success in their markets after launching their own betting scenes.

This positions Illinois to remain one of the top three legal sports betting markets in the U.S., following behind New York. In the first four months of 2023, Illinois has ranked second in the nation for total wagers with over $3.9 billion, second in revenue with over $340.5 million, and third in taxes paid with $56.3 million.

FanDuel dominates Illinois

In April, FanDuel dominated the sportsbook market in Illinois, leading in handle, hold, and revenue. FanDuel Illinois accounted for $310.4 million of the state’s total handle, generating $38.9 million in revenue with a remarkable 12.5% win rate.

In the Illinois market, DraftKings secured the second spot with $278.8 million in bets and approximately $25 million in revenues, achieving a 9% hold. Following closely behind was Caesars with reported wagers of $75.2 million and revenues of $3.9 million. PointsBet rounded out the top four with $47.4 million in bets and $5.4 million in revenues, boasting a solid 11.3% hold.