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October marked the first time the Illinois sports betting handle
surpassed the $1 billion mark in a single month. Illinois is
just the fourth state in U.S. history to produce a
billion-dollar monthly handle from sports betting, joining New
York, New Jersey and Nevada to reach that plateau.
In
October, Illinois' sportsbook handle increased 24% from
September’s handle of about $832 million.
Three major sports leagues were in play – the NFL, the NBA and
the NHL – giving Illinois sports bettors plenty to choose from.
Nearly $360 million was bet on NFL games by Illinoisans last
month.
According to the Illinois Gaming Board, licensed sports books
also set a record with more than $100 million in revenue for the
month.
Dave Briggs with PlayIllinois.com said he doesn’t see a slowdown
anytime soon.
“I wouldn’t expect so, and then you get into the NFL playoffs,
then you get into the Super Bowl, then into March Madness, so I
don’t know if it will stay at a billion dollars a month for
every month, but certainly it’s going to be right up there,”
Briggs said.
So far this year, Illinois is second in the country in revenue
at nearly $628 million and third in handle at nearly $7.7
billion.
Since the launch of sports betting in March 2020, Illinois
sports gamblers have bet $17 billion. The state’s 12 sports
books have netted about $1.3 billion, and the total tax revenue
for the state has reached nearly $205 million.
Critics note that the betting explosion also has led to a rise
in gambling addiction, with calls to the state’s gambling
addiction hotline reportedly doubling over the first year the
industry was active in Illinois.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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