The commercial casinos in Illinois got off to a bit of a slow start in 2022.
In all, the state’s 11 casinos combined for $87,766,731 of revenue in January, a 20.1% drop from December and the lowest figure in the state since February 2021.
Illinois casinos made $109.1 million of revenue in December.
Still, the first month of the year brought much better news to the Illinois gaming industry than 12 months earlier. With coronavirus-related restrictions hampering the whole industry in January 2021, the state drew just $26.2 million of revenue. Last month’s number more than tripled that amount.
The state share of taxes last month was $9.88 million and the local share of taxes was $4.96 million.
Breakdown of Illinois Casino Revenue
As usual, Rivers Casino in Des Plaines was the runaway leader in revenue for January at $29.7 million, according to the Illinois Gaming Board. That total was derived from $17.65 million in slots (known as EGDs) and $12.06 million in table games.
The only other casino in Illinois to clear the $10 million barrier in January was Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin with $11.07 million.
January was the second full month of operation at the Hard Rock Casino in Rockford, which became the state’s 11th commercial casino. The facility drew $3.37 million in January though it only offers EGDs.
The $87.77 million in January revenue broke down to $66.3 million from EGDs and $21.45 million from table games.
Sports Betting Keeps Growing
The Illinois sports betting numbers for January won’t be available until early March.
In December, the state drew $789.6 million in sports betting handle, the second-best figure ever behind the record $840.4 million in October 2021.
The Illinois law requiring in-person registration for sports betting will end in March. And BetMGM, a top player in several markets where it has sports wagering available, said it plans to launch in Illinois in early 2022. That deal comes as a partnership with the Par-A-Dice Hotel & Casino in East Peoria.
