The Illinois Gaming Board announced today that Illinois sportsbooks have broken a new record for January, exceeding $1 billion in handle for the fourth month in a row.
In January, Illinois sports betting apps saw over $1.07 billion in wagers.
In December, Illinois sportsbooks saw a record-breaking $1.029 billion in bets placed, a 4% increase from the previous month’s all-time high of $1.03 billion in November. The state’s sports betting handle surpassed $1 billion for the first time in October.
Illinois is now the fourth state to achieve four consecutive months of billion-dollar handle, joining New York, New Jersey, and Nevada.
Illinois surpassed Pennsylvania in January to claim the third spot in lifetime sports betting handle, with over $19.7 billion wagered on sports. The state is on track to surpass the $20 billion mark once the February figures are released.
The lifetime sports betting handle in the United States has exceeded $200 billion, with Illinois’ January figures contributing to the increase.
In 2022, the sports betting handle in Illinois totaled $9,751,301,251, ranking third behind New York ($16.2 billion) and New Jersey (almost $11 billion).
Ohio posts impressive inaugural month
In January, Illinois dropped to fourth place in national betting rankings as a new state entered the race. Ohio launched its sports betting on Jan. 1 and quickly rose to second place, generating $1.1 billion in its first month. This put Ohio ahead of both New Jersey and Illinois in the rankings, trailing only New York.
January 2025 State-by-State Handling:
- The amounts of money held by various states are as follows: New York – $1.8 billion, Ohio – $1.1 billion, New Jersey – $1.08 billion, Illinois – $1.07 billion, Nevada – $936 million, and Pennsylvania – $772.3 million.
Illinois sports betting handle up 23% year-over-year
In January, the sportsbook handle in Illinois was similar to that of the previous three months, but there was a notable increase of 29% from September, with the total amount bet exceeding $831.8 million. This marked a significant 89% jump from August’s figure of $565 million.
The growth is mainly attributed to the change in legislation.
New laws went into effect in March 2022 in Illinois, allowing residents to register for sportsbooks online instead of having to do so in person at a casino. This change has greatly boosted the state’s sports betting industry, as people can now easily sign up with any of the seven legal sportsbooks.
The 23% increase in Illinois sports betting handle in January 2025, compared to January 2022, can be attributed to over $867 million being wagered on sports during that month.
IL sportsbook revenue ranked third in US in January
In January, Illinois came in third place in the US for gross gaming revenue, bringing in slightly more than $88.5 million.
Ohio recorded the highest revenue in the nation with over $209 million, followed by New York with close to $150 million. Illinois exceeded New Jersey, which generated over $72 million in revenue.
Illinois was ranked as the second highest state in the US in terms of sports betting revenue in 2022, collecting over $806 million, until Ohio emerged on the scene.
New York topped the charts in sports betting revenue in the US, generating almost $1.4 billion. New Jersey followed closely behind Illinois, securing the third position with approximately $763 million.
Prairie State was third in the US for sports betting revenue in December, bringing in almost $81.4 million. New Jersey exceeded this with $87.7 million, but New York led the nation with nearly $143 million in revenue for the month.
In January 2025, Illinois saw an increase in revenue from sports betting.
| Licensee | Online Brand | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmount Park | FanDuel | $373,531,524 | $43,749,204 | 11.7% | $7,513,796 |
| Casino Queen East St. Louis | DraftKings | $336,933,843 | $23,860,260 | 7.1% | $4,048,928 |
| Rivers Des Plaines | BetRivers | $110,376,255 | $7,905,399 | 7.2% | $1,400,642 |
| Hawthorne | PointsBet | $76,414,318 | $4,635,960 | 6.1% | $795,887 |
| Grand Victoria | Caesars | $59,037,622 | $1,205,686 | 2.0% | $392,758 |
| Par-A-Dice | BetMGM | $58,045,794 | $3,766,264 | 6.5% | $633,695 |
| Hollywood Aurora | Barstool | $48,888,863 | $2,993,557 | 6.1% | $591,499 |
| Argosy | $5,313,303 | $333,371 | 6.3% | $25,740 | |
| Hollywood Joliet | $1,491,770 | $102,362 | 6.9% | $7,708 | |
| Total | $1,070,033,292 | $88,552,064 | 8.3% | $15,410,653 |
Illinois over $15 million in tax revenue in January from sports betting
Sportsbooks in Illinois generated $15.4 million in tax revenue in January.
Since its introduction in June 2019, sports betting in Illinois has resulted in nearly $248 million in tax revenue. Of this amount, nearly $128 million was generated in the year 2022 alone.
Sportsbooks in Illinois contributed over $13 million to state and local treasuries in December, following a record-breaking $15.5 million in taxes generated in November.
The effective tax rate for sportsbooks in Illinois was 17.4% in January.
In January, the retention rate in Illinois was 8.3%. This rate remained consistent throughout 2022, with a slight decrease to 7.9% in December. The overall lifetime retention rate has also been at 7.9%.
Illinois sports betting surpasses Pennsylvania’s lifetime
Illinois can look forward to a bright future in the industry as more sportsbooks are set to arrive in the state.
Illinois, also known as the Prairie State, surpassed Pennsylvania in sports betting handle in January. In terms of revenue, Illinois jumped ahead of Pennsylvania in November 2022.
Lifetime sports betting handle:
- Almost $35 billion is held by New Jersey, nearly $30.5 billion by Nevada, over $19.7 billion by Illinois, over $19.6 billion by Pennsylvania, and nearly $18.5 billion by New York.
List of sports betting revenue rankings for lifetime earnings as of January 2025:
- – New Jersey has nearly $2.5 billion
- Nevada has over $1.7 billion.
- Illinois has over $1.568 billion.
- New York has over $1.55 billion.
- Pennsylvania’s budget exceeds $1.54 billion.
Sportsbooks exceeded $200 billion in lifetime handle nationwide
As of January, the 27 states with legalized sports betting have managed to generate over $200 billion in total wagers. The states have earned nearly $15.7 billion in revenue, resulting in approximately $2.69 billion in tax revenue.
In 2022, the total handle surpassed $93 billion, with total revenue close to $8 billion. Combined tax revenue for that year exceeded $1.5 billion.
