Illinois Sees Huge November 2020 Sports Betting Handle, Reaching $451 Million

The Illinois Gaming Board has finally released the November 2020 sports betting totals, and it was another record-setting month for the industry. The traditional total sports betting handle in November came in at $451 million.

The traditional handle calculates all of the money that was bet during the month, including futures bet. The actual handle for events completed during the month of November was $447 million.

Illinois previously set an industry record in October when sportsbooks saw $434.6 million in wagers. Most states in the US have seen growth in sports betting, but not all of them have seen it at the rate of what is taking place in Illinois.

There are still just five online sports betting options in Illinois, but mobile betting continues to generate the most wagers. More than 90 percent of all bets have been placed online since sports betting began back in March 2020.

Total sports betting handle in 2020 has now gone over the $1 billion mark, and the December totals have not even been released yet.

PointsBet Making Moves in Illinois

PointsBet is an Australian-based sports betting operator that became the fourth site to launch in Illinois. PointsBet has partnered with Hawthorne Race Course to gain market access in Illinois, and that partnership is now taking another step forward.

The partnership with Hawthorne Race Course gives PointsBet access to at least three off-track betting facilities, all of which are in the Chicagoland area. Earlier this week, PointsBet launched its retail sportsbook at Club Hawthorne, which is located in Crestwood.

This new facility will be the first off-track sportsbook in Illinois, but more will come through this partnership. The capacity of Club Hawthorne is 500 people, but COVID-19 restrictions will keep the crowds limited for the time being.

Iowa, Michigan Providing Competition

Illinois is expected to continue to put up some massive sports betting numbers, but the competition is heating up in the Midwest. Indiana is currently the biggest competitor to Illinois as both states share customers in the Chicagoland area.

Iowa just recently removed its in-person registration requirement, and Michigan launched online sports betting last weekend. These two states will see tremendous growth in 2021 and could become threats to the market in Illinois.

US Industry Nears $3.5 Billion

Now that the Illinois numbers have finally been reported, the entire US sports betting industry saw $3.46 billion in wagers during the month of November. After going over the $3.25 billion mark in October, the US industry just missed hitting the $3.5 billion goal.

New Jersey announced a total sports betting handle of $931.6 million for the month of November, and it is clearly the biggest market. Nevada came in at $609.4 million, and Pennsylvania was third on the list at $491.9 million.

Illinois is now the fourth-largest sports betting market in the United States, and the Land of Lincoln was able to achieve that ranking in less than 10 months.