The Illinois Gaming Board announced today that nearly $10 billion was bet through legal sportsbooks in Illinois in 2022, with the figures for December also being disclosed.
Illinois sports betting handle surpassed $1 billion for the third month in a row, with sportsbooks taking in over $1.029 billion in December. This figure is just slightly below the record-breaking $1.03 billion in November and comparable to October’s milestone of reaching the $1 billion mark for the first time.
Illinois has become the fourth state to achieve three consecutive months of billion-dollar handle, joining the ranks of New York, New Jersey, and Nevada.
The exact revenue generated from sports betting in Illinois for the year totaled $9,751,301,251.
Illinois ranked third in sports betting handle in 2022, with New York leading at over $16.2 billion and New Jersey just below at nearly $11 billion.
In the month of December, Illinois placed third in handle, coming behind New York (with over $1.6 billion) and New Jersey (with nearly $1.06 billion).
The record handle in Illinois was largely fueled by betting on the NFL, NBA, World Cup, and NHL.
Illinois sports betting handle up 82% since August
While the sportsbook handle in December in Illinois was similar to that of November and October, it saw a 24% increase from the September total bet of over $831.8 million and a significant 82% increase from the August figure of $565 million.
The growth is mainly attributed to the change in legislation.
In March 2022, new laws in Illinois allowed residents to register for sportsbooks online rather than in person at a casino. This change has been a major boost for the industry, as it now allows Illinois residents to easily sign up with any of the seven legal sportsbooks in the state.
IL sportsbook revenue ranked second in US in 2022
Illinois ranked as the second highest state in the US for gross gaming revenue in 2022, bringing in more than $806 million.
New York topped the US in sports betting revenue with nearly $1.4 billion, followed closely by New Jersey which secured the third position with almost $763 million, closely behind Illinois.
In December, the Prairie State came in third place in the United States for sports betting revenue, bringing in almost $81.4 million. This amount was slightly lower than New Jersey’s revenue of $87.7 million. New York led the country in revenue for the month, with a total of almost $143 million.
Illinois sports betting revenue – December 2022
| Licensee | Online Brand(s) | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmount Park | FanDuel | $350,723,415 | $37,370,170 | 10.7% | $6,002,599 |
| Casino Queen East St. Louis | DraftKings | $311,384,471 | $21,900,309 | 7% | $3,590,337 |
| Rivers Des Plaines | BetRivers | $108,973,694 | $8,097,812 | 7.4% | $1,337,461 |
| Hawthorne | PointsBet | $81,957,678 | $3,438,552 | 4.2% | $581,018 |
| Par-A-Dice | BetMGM | $59,824,979 | $4,632,661 | 7.7% | $708,263 |
| Grand Victoria | Caesars | $57,615,744 | $2,758,015 | 4.8% | $426,044 |
| Hollywood Aurora | Barstool | $50,470,038 | $2,680,710 | 5.3% | $477,586 |
| Argosy | $6,106,634 | $346,429 | 5.7% | $41,176 | |
| Hollywood Joliet | $1,413,603 | $182,812 | 12.9% | $21,666 | |
| Total | $1,028,471,257 | $81,407,470 | 7.9% | $13,186,151 |
Illinois sports betting surpasses Pennsylvania lifetime
Illinois can look forward to a promising future in the industry as more sportsbooks are set to be introduced.
Illinois surpassed Pennsylvania in sports betting revenue in November and is close to surpassing PA in terms of handle.
List of lifetime sports betting revenue rankings as of December 2022:
- New Jersey has approximately $2.37 billion, Nevada has nearly $1.7 billion, Illinois has close to $1.5 billion, Pennsylvania has nearly $1.5 billion, and New York has $1.41 billion.
Lifetime sports betting handle:
- New Jersey’s total surpasses $33.7 billion.
- More than $29.5 billion in Nevada
- Pennsylvania’s nearly $18.9 billion
- Illinois — $18.7 billion
- New York has over $16.6 billion.
Illinois nearly $233 million in tax revenue from sports betting
Since sports betting was introduced in Illinois in June 2019, it has brought in approximately $233 million in tax revenue. In just 2022, it has already generated nearly $128 million in tax revenue.
Sportsbooks in Illinois contributed over $13 million to state and local treasuries in December, following a November contribution of over $15.5 million in taxes.
The effective tax rate on sportsbooks in Illinois was 16.2% in December.
The retention rate in Illinois was 8.3% in 2022, but decreased to 7.9% in December. Overall, the lifetime retention rate has remained steady at 7.9%.
Sports betting exceeded $190 billion in lifetime handle nationwide
The 26 states that have legalized sports betting have collectively generated over $190 billion in turnover since inception. The revenue from these states is nearly $15 billion, with total tax revenue reaching approximately $2.5 billion.
In 2022, the total handle exceeded $93 billion, with total revenue approaching $8 billion. The combined tax revenue for that year surpassed $1.5 billion.
