Illinois Sports Betting Moves Past Nevada
Illinois is just now reporting on the April sports betting numbers for the state, even though we are already well into June. The report was worth the wait for the entire industry and state of Illinois as the total sports betting handle came in at $839.3 million.
Illinois followed the national trend that saw sports betting handle decrease from the month of March, but this number from Illinois was still staggering. What makes this number even more impressive is that Illinois posted at total sports betting handle of nearly $300 million more than Nevada.
Online sportsbooks in the state of Illinois saw right around 96% of all of the wagers placed, and that is a trend that has been consistent since that form of wagering launched. The total sports betting revenue numbers were solid as well, coming in slightly above $68 million.
Illinois is not ever likely to catch up to New Jersey or New York in terms of total monthly handle, but the state is gaining ground in a hurry. This is also a market that continues to grow as new online sportsbooks are receiving licenses from the Illinois Gaming Board.
The May through August totals are expected to continue to decline as these are slow months for the industry, but things will pick back up when the NFL season begins.
Two Sportsbooks Set the Tone
As expected, Fanduel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook continued to lead the way in the state of Illinois. Those two companies combined for almost 60% of the total sports betting handle, and that has been a consistent theme.
FanDuel posted a total sports betting handle of $287.9 million for the month of April, and DraftKings came in right at $217 million. Those two sportsbooks also combined for over $47 million in the total revenue that was reported.
Circa Sports and WynnBET Sportsbook are also expected to launch in the state of Illinois at some point, and that will provide some extra competition. BetRivers was once the top online sportsbook in the state, but PointsBet Sportsbook is closing the gap to take over the third spot.
Basketball, Baseball Bring the Bets
The month of March is always the biggest month for betting on basketball, but that sport dominated in April as well. The total sports betting handle on basketball games was $291.6 million, and that sport should lead in May and June as well.
Baseball got started during the month of April and the total handle for that sport was $135.5 million. Parlay betting has always been a favorite of sports bettors in this state, and that total handle came in at $190.2 million.
Baseball will have to carry the total sports betting handle for the next few months as basketball will wrap up in June with the conclusion of the NBA Finals.
