Illinois Sports Betting Sees Huge Month in August

Illinois saw a huge spike in its sports betting handle in August after the state released its revenue report on Tuesday. The Land of Lincon saw $139.8 million in bets this August – a 118% increase from July’s handle.

The huge spike in sports betting is contributed to a few things. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker extended his executive order to allow online registration instead of in-person. This allows people to create sports betting accounts from home instead of going to a casino to do so.

August also had a full month of MLB, NBA, and NHL games. With demand for sports betting after a four and a half month layoff from mainstream sports, fans were excited to get their action in on major U.S. sports again. This helped the August numbers along with mobile sports betting available

By the Numbers

Illinois bettors wagered close to $140 million in August as the state collected $7.2 million holding 5.2%. Overall, the total tax collected was $1.2 million, according to the state report.

DraftKings‘ handle was just under $14 million for August, and rival FanDuel saw its handle hit $4 million for the month. The Sportsbook at Argosy Casino Alton also hit $2.7 for the month.

Elgin Riverboat Resort and Hollywood Casinos in Aurora and Joliet were all under the $1 million mark. Hollywood did not have a full month of sports betting in August, however. Those numbers should increase in September.

BetRivers Brought in How Much?

BetRivers was the biggest winner in August, bringing in a handle of $117.7 million in August. For anyone doing the math at home, that’s 84% of Illinois’ total handle for the month, and nearly seven times the amount of bets DraftKings and FanDuel brought in.

BetRivers alone doubled the Illinois handle in July.

Their mobile betting handle was $106.3 million, and in-person wagering hit an impressive $11.3 million in August. BetRivers dominated the month of August, and it shows how much of the market they have in the Land of Lincoln.

What has helped BetRivers early on is that they launched their mobile betting app in June, just after J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order for in-person registration. Although not many sports were going on at the time, this allowed people to sign-up with a credible sportsbook.

When DraftKings and FanDuel were looking to enter the market, Pritzker suspended the executive order in July before reversing that decision a few weeks later in August.

Overall, even with the back and forth, BetRivers entering the market first has helped them with early success in August. Capitalizing on 84% of the August handle is huge, especially with DraftKings, FanDuel, William Hill, and others in the market.

Illinois Sports Betting this Fall

Football coming into play will only help see the handle and revenue increase through September and October. The Land of Lincoln now has six sportsbooks operating in the state, which should give more variety for customers looking for the best place to bet.

This all calls into question whether or not BetRivers will be able to continue to dominate the market in September. DraftKings and FanDuel should get more share of the market, along with William Hill having a full month of sports betting. PointsBet launched just before Week 1 of the NFL season, and creating a partnership with the Chicago Bears will also help bring in customers.

The August numbers said a lot about how the early market is shaping up, but Illinois could become a competitive state among sports betting companies.