Illinois Sports Betting
All About Sports Betting Handle And Revenue in Illinois

All About Sports Betting Handle And Revenue in Illinois

April 23, 2025 09:47am

The experts at IllinoisBet.com have assembled this guide to explain what we mean when we talk about financial figures from Illinois sportsbooks, which include handle, revenue and tax collections.

The sports betting market in Illinois includes retail sportsbooks at the state’s casinos, plus mobile sports betting apps.

In the financial language of sports betting, handle is simply the total of all sports wagers made in the state during one calendar month. The handle can be specified as either retail (in person) or online (using a device such as a laptop, desktop or mobile phone). In Illinois, bettors wager hundreds of millions of dollars each month – sometimes more than a billion dollars – and the vast majority of the action is on Illinois betting apps.

Revenue is what is left for the gambling operators after winnings are paid out. The tax collections from sports gambling is determined by a 15% tax rate (plus additional taxes for wagers placed in Cook County and the City of Chicago) that is applied to the operators’ Revenue.

Sport gambling in the Land of Lincoln was legalized in 2019 with the Sports Wagering Act. The first legal sports bet was placed in March 2020.

Illinois Sports Betting, January vs. December

	Total handle	Mobile Handle	Revenue
January	$1.286B	$1.249B	$135.232M
December	$1.314B	$1.274B	$128.430M
Change	Down 2.1%	Down 2.0%	Up 5.3%

💰 Visit our Illinois Tax Calculator to see how much you owe from your winnings

Sports Betting Handle and Revenue: January 2024

Illinois set a new state record as it reported its January sports betting handle and revenue on Thursday.

Revenue and tax records were set in the state.

January total sports betting revenue was $135,231,590, which broke the previous record, set the previous month (December 2023). The figure was up 5.3% from December ($128,430,319).

Records also were set in mobile revenue and sports betting taxes paid.

However, the state’s sports wagering handle ($1,286,243,926) was down by 2.1% from December ($1,314,056,821). It was 2.0% for mobile handle.

The top sports in January: basketball ($448,588,515), football ($256,473,706), tennis ($87,792,830), hockey ($35,839,746) and soccer ($35,739,914).

Illinois Mobile Sports Betting History

Illinois Sports Betting Handle and Revenue FAQ

Illinois sports betting handle from January to December 2023 exceeded $11.62 billion, up 19.2% from 2022 ($9.75 billion). Revenue was just over $1 billion in 2023 (up 26% from the previous year's $795 million) and the state collected $162.15 million in taxes for the calendar year.

The tax rate for Illinois sports betting is 15% on adjusted gross sports wagering receipts, with an additional 2% tax applied to wagers placed within Cook County, and an additional 2% tax applied to wagers placed in the City of Chicago.

The Illinois Gaming Board reports its figures for sports betting once a month.

Proceeds go to the Capital Projects Fund. The 2% tax that is imposed on receipts from sports wagering in Cook County is used for the county’s criminal justice system.

The Illinois Gaming Board.

Mobile sports betting handle refers to the amount of money wagered on mobile or online apps, by people using phones, laptops, or other online devices. Many operators running mobile apps offer promos to their customers. In Illinois, total handle refers to the combined handle of both online wagering and sports betting done at casinos.

Handle is the term used to refer to the amount of money wagered. Hold refers to what’s left after winning bets are paid out.

Author

IllinoisBet Staff

The veteran team of Illinois sports betting experts behind IllinoisBet.com to help you find the best Illinois sportsbooks that are right for you.

Cited by leading media organizations, such as: