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Sports bettors have made the state one of the top gambling
markets in the country. October marked the first time Illinois'
sports betting handle surpassed the $1 billion dollar mark in a
single month, becoming just the fourth state in U.S. history to
reach that threshold, joining New York, New Jersey and Nevada to
reach that plateau.
Three major sports leagues were in play, the NFL, the NBA and
the NHL, giving Illinois sports bettors plenty to choose from.
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.
Since the launch of sports betting in March 2020, Illinois
sports gamblers have bet in the neighborhood of $18 billion. The
state’s 12 sports books have netted about $1.5 billion, and the
total tax revenue for the state has surpassed $200 million.
All tax funds go into a Sports Wagering Fund. On the 25th of
each month, any money in that fund in excess of the anticipated
monthly expenditures from the fund through the next month are
transferred to the Capital Projects Fund.
In March of this year, a law was enacted that allowed Illinois
residents to sign-up online for sports books, rather than having
to do so in-person at one of the state’s land-based casinos.
Since the beginning of legal sports betting, over $160 billion
has been bet in the United States. Currently, 26 states allow
sports betting.
Critics note that the betting explosion has also 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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