Illinois Sportsbooks See Revenues Fall In February, Up Year-Over-Year

It was a mixed bag of results for Illinois sportsbooks during the month of February, with a double-digit decline in handle month-over-month, but strong growth versus the same period in 2022.

Overall, the state’s retail and online sportsbooks took in $875,387,789 in total handle, which was down 18.2% from January’s total of $1,070,033,292.

The second month of 2023 was a sizable improvement over the same period a year ago, with a 29.9% improvement over last year’s handle of $652,322,787.

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February Numbers Down Compared to January

Illinois sports betting revenue in February was $68,423,067, down 28.7% from January’s sum of $96,011,984, but up 92.2% from last year’s figure ($35,600,085).

Illinois’ sports betting tax haul in February was $11,046,351, down 28.9% from January’s total of $15,544,928.

Here’s what else you should know about the Illinois Gaming Board’s report for the month of February:

Illinois Sports Betting Handle, February vs. January

	Total handle	Mobile Handle	Revenue
February	$875.388M	$847.357M	$68.423M
January	$1.070B	$1.033B	$96.012M
Change	Down 18.2%	Down 18.0%	Down 28.7%

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Basketball A Big Mover For Illinois Sportsbooks In February

The main motivator for Illinois sportsbooks, handle-wise, during the month of February, was basketball, which generated $360,827,648 for the state.

Trailing the hardwood were tennis ($77,836,721), football ($55,323,362), soccer ($45,645,333), and hockey ($31,360,440).

Other sports contributed a combined handle of $43,780,888 in February, while parlays chipped in a total handle of $240,442,689.

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Where Illinois February Handle Ranks Nationally

Illinois sportsbooks combined to post the second-largest sports betting handle in the nation, ranking behind New York ($1,474,299,932) and ahead of New Jersey ($847.4 million).

Other states that Illinois beat out for the second-largest sports betting handle during the second month of the year were Nevada ($659.4 million), Ohio ($639.8 million), and Pennsylvania ($599.5 million).

With Arizona being the lone holdout to report February wagering revenue, it’s safe to assume that Illinois will hold onto its No. 2 spot nationally during the month.

The state also has the second-largest handle in the country through two months of the year ($1,945,421,081) behind New York’s total of $3,273,348,298.

Illinois’ sports betting handle through February also represents a 25.8% year-over-year increase from last year’s total through February ($1,546,879,694), showing the market’s continued growth in Year Four of legal wagering in the Land of Lincoln.