After sportsbook betting sites in Illinois had a terrible month in July, it rebounded to top $400 million in total sports handle in August, putting it third nationally among states for the month.
The Illinois total handle of $400.4 million was up 8.5% from July’s $369.1 million. It was helped a little by NFL betting on the preseason.
But baseball betting ruled in Illinois in August. It had $139.6 million wagered on it, followed by tennis ($43.4 million), soccer ($30.8 million), football ($17.2 million) and basketball ($9.4 million). “Other sports” handle came in at $15.4 million while parlay betting handle was $127 million.
Illinois is the last state to report August sports betting figures. Some states have already released September figures and they have seen big increases with the start of the NFL regular season and college football.
Helped by Illinois, the total sports handle in the U.S. in August was $3.07 billion, up 9.4% from July’s $2.8 billion. Revenue among states was about $196.15 million, down 19.6% from July’s $243.9 million.
Illinois Sports Betting Handle, August vs. July
| Total handle | Mobile Handle | Revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | $400.360M | $380.217M | $26.849M |
| July | $369.135M | $351.400M | $37.612M |
| Change | Up 8.5% | Up 8.2% | Down 28.6% |
Here are three key takeaways about Illinois gambling in the August sports wagering report, released by the Illinois Gaming Board.
Streak of Declines Ends
After four straight months of sports handle declines, August was a good sign for the rest of the year, especially with the NFL regular season about to enter its sixth week and the Bears at 3-2 after a 20-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
There is a lot of excitement with the Bears after Coach Matt Nagy named rookie Justin Fields his starting quarterback, and the defense is making it difficult on opposing teams.
CHECK OUT: How Do Bears Fans Feel About Possible Move Out of Chicago?
Illinois was third behind New Jersey ($664.7 million) and Nevada ($427.4 million) in August sports handle, finishing ahead of Pennsylvania ($348.5 million). Indiana ($215.6 million) was fifth among states.
Mobile Still Strong in Illinois
The mobile sports betting handle in Illinois for August was about 95% of the market, roughly the same as it was in July. The mobile handle of about $380.2 million was an increase of 8.2% over July’s $351.4 million.
What’s more impressive about the mobile numbers is that in-person registration returned to Illinois in April. That hasn’t seemed to make too much of a difference in the overall mobile numbers. Many bettors have clearly already registered at casinos.
Revenue, Tax Numbers Fall
Despite the sizable increase in August sports betting handle, Illinois again saw revenue and taxes decline.
Sports betting revenue for August was $26.8 million, a nearly 30% drop from July’s $37.6 million. A hold that fell below 10% attributed to the decrease.
The state saw more than $4 million in taxes ($4.4 million), but that was again down 27.9% from July’s $6.1 million. Cook County received $294,458 in August tax revenue.
