Illinois sports bettors set another new record for handle in December at $491.7m, up 9.0% from the prior month despite almost no retail activity, but revenue plummeted 41.3% from November to $23.9m.
With casinos across the state closed for much of the month, retail betting revenue came to just $97,915. Retail handle was just $182,701, with a large portion of revenue coming from bets placed in before casinos closed in November.
DraftKings’ sportsbook at Casino Queen in East St Louis was the leader in retail revenue, bringing in more than the state’s total at $106,254 as Rush Street Interactive’s sportsbook at Rivers Casino Des Plaines lost money for the month.
Online revenue came to $23.8m, which was down 40.0% from November. Online players placed bets worth $487.3m, up 12.4%, as players won much more of their online bets.
Looking at the leaders in the online wagering market, there was a close three-way race, but FanDuel held onto its first-place spot with $7.1m in revenue. DraftKings followed with $6.9m while Rush Street Interactive brought in $6.8m.
As online made up almost all of the $23.9m in total revenue, FanDuel was also first in overall revenue at $7.1, while DraftKings followed with $7.0m while RSI brought in $6.8m.
Operators in the state paid a combined $3.8m in tax, with the leading three operators paying more than $1.1m each. Of this total, $3.6m was paid based on the state’s base 15% tax rate, while the remaining $242,656 came from an additional 2% tax on bets placed in Cook County, which includes Chicago.
Bets on final results, classed as “Tier 1” wagers, made up just over half of betting handle at $251.4m and brought in $12.1m in revenue. The remaining $240.3m in handle and $11.8m in revenue came from “Tier 2” bets, such as prop bets and point totals.
Professional sports bets made up most of the state’s handle at $321.0m and brought in revenue of $15.0m. Players staked $165.9m on college sports, with casinos taking $8.6m, while $26,507 was bet on motor sports, producing revenue of $6,404.
Parlay bets brought in more revenue than any single sport at $5.4m, ahead of football’s $4.9m. Football saw the highest handle, though, at $204.4m.