Illinois Sports Betting Records Fall in October as State Joins $1B Handle Club

It was a historic October for sports betting in Illinois, with more than $1 billion wagered during the month for the first time.

The overall handle of $1.029 billion wasn’t the only milestone cleared by the Land of Lincoln, however, as the state also surpassed $100 million in gross gaming revenue for the first time during the 10th month of the year.

Illinois joined a small group of states to exceed $1 billion in sports betting handle for a month. Only New York, New Jersey and Nevada had done so until now.

October’s sports betting handle represented a 23.8% month-over-month increase from the $831.806 million raked in during September, according to figures from the Illinois Gaming Board. The month's total also represented a 22.5% increase, year-over-year, from the $844.440 million handle in October 2021.

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Illinois Mobile Sports Betting, Revenue Also Sets Marks

Illinois sports betting apps set a record with $989.28 million in mobile handle, up 24.0% from September’s $797.7 million.

The record for both total handle and mobile wagers taken had stood since March. That month, Illinois operators took $971.3 million in total handle, with $927.5 million coming in via mobile, laptop and desktop devises.

In terms of overall revenue, the October total of $102,088,548 was a 30.2% increase over the $78.416 million made from Illinois September sports betting revenue. In hitting nine figures for the first time, the state’s sports betting revenue easily surpassed the mark of $79.3 million that had stood since November 2021.

Illinois joined New York and New Jersey in surpassing $100 million in sports revenue for a month.

Here’s a look at how the Illinois sports betting scene fared overall during the month of October:

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Illinois Sports Betting Handle, October vs. September

	Total handle	Mobile Handle	Revenue
October	$1.029B	$989.276M	$102.089M
September	$831.806M	$797.704M	$78.417M
Change	Up 23.8%	Up 24.0%	Up 30.2%

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Illinois Sports Betting Handle, Taxes Up Big in October

Operators weren’t the only ones making out in a big way during October, as the state’s cut of the action was also up significantly during the month.

In total, Illinois sportsbooks contributed $16.475 million in wagering taxes to the state, which represented a 30.1% increase from the $12.667 million raked in during September.

A key piece of what contributes to revenue for the state is the fact that operators are not allowed to deduct any losses from Illinois sports betting promos like they are in other states.

As far as what sports Illinois residents wagered the most on during October, football was far and away the No. 1 option, with $358.239 million in overall handle. Trailing the pigskin were basketball ($114.385 million), tennis ($85.185 million), baseball ($78.970 million), and soccer ($43.570 million), while “other sports” handle finished at $61.595 million.

The total parlay handle for October finished up at $259.302 million, rounding out a historic October for the Prairie State.

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Illinois Casinos Continue Roller Coaster Ride in November

While October was the gift that kept on giving for sports betting operators, the same can’t be said of their brick-and-mortar casino brethren for November. Illinois reports casino revenue a month ahead of its sports betting figures.

Overall, Illinois casinos finished with $113.990 million in revenue during the month, down 1.7% from the $115.958 million the facilities generated in October.

There are no Illinois online casinos as a wagering option.

The 11th month of the year represented the sixth one with a decrease in casino revenue, joining September, August, June, May, and January.

The state’s casinos raked in $82.616 million from electronic gaming devices and another $31.373 million from table games during November.

The former figure was down slightly from the $85.604 million collected in October, while the latter number climbed a bit from the $30.353 million from the 10th month of the year.

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