Sports betting revenue in the state of Illinois dipped 1.2% month-on-month to $43.6m in April, as handle declined by 14.4%.
The $43.6m in revenue came on handle of $537.2m, down 14.4% from March’s record, when betting on the NCAA basketball tournament boosted revenue.
The vast majority of betting revenue came from online bets, which brought in $40.9m, down 2.2%. This came on handle of $513.3m.
Retail betting revenue, on the other hand, grew 6.8% to $2.7m on revenue of $23.9m, down 0.8% from March.
Leading the way in revenue was FanDuel’s sportsbook in partnership with Fairmount Park, which brought in $15.8m in revenue. DraftKings, which partnered with Casino Queen, brought in $12.2m, while the Barstool sportsbook at Hollywood Casino Aurora brought in $3.9m.
The $43.6m in revenue led to $7.1m in wagering tax. Of this tax, $6.5m was in the state’s usual 15% betting tax, while a further $527,100 came from the additional 2% tax on bets in Cook County, which includes Chicago. Revenue on these bets came to $26.3m.
Illinois also breaks wagers into “Tier 1” bets – on final results – and “Tier 2” bets, such as prop bets and point totals.
Handle from “Tier 1” bets came to $238.3m. Handle from “Tier 2” bets, on the other hand, was $298.9m.
Basketball was again the most popular sport for betting, with handle of $164.6m. Baseball followed with $112.7m, while $28.9m was bet on soccer.
Professional sports betting handle was $513.9m, while betting on college sports declined to $22.8m. Motor racing handle was $495,100.
While the Illinois sports betting market opened in March 2020, there was no betting revenue in April as the online market would not launch until June and all retail venues were shut due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic As a result, year-on-year comparisons were not available.