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Illinois sportsbooks brought in more than $875 million in handle (total bets) in February, a 29% increase over February 2022.
Sports gambling in Illinois was down month-on-month (MoM), which is to be expected since February had fewer days than January.
Overall, Illinois’ seven sportsbooks continued to generate significant action, ranking second in total handle last month among all states with sports betting.
Illinois sports betting revenue by casino
Fairmount Park led the way in sports betting revenue in February bringing in $33.5 million between retail and online sports betting, more than double the next closest casino, DraftKings at Casino Queen.
While the two casinos were relatively close in handle, Fairmount Park managed to take a 10.9% hold (revenue as a percentage of handle) compared to Casino Queen’s 5.9%
Only one casino in Illinois lost money on sports betting in February: Argosy Casino Alton. The property tallied a loss of $35,709, for a hold of -1.1%.
Overall, casinos failed to keep pace with January’s revenue totals. In February, sportsbooks revenue totaled $63.3 million, which is more than $25 million less than the previous month.
| Casino | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmount Park | $307,217,253 | $33,461,233 | 10.9% | $5,406,172 |
| Casino East St. Louis | $278,866,173 | $16,347,502 | 5.9% | $2,974,534 |
| Rivers Des Plaines | $91,472,309 | $5,643,295 | 6.2% | $995,522 |
| Grand Victoria | $54,935,471 | $994,358 | 1.8% | $199,510 |
| Hawthorne | $53,446,908 | $3,830,102 | 7.2% | $713,158 |
| Par-A-Dice | $50,075,114 | $2,099,727 | 4.2% | $394,437 |
| Hollywood Aurora | $34,947,453 | $760,443 | 2.2% | $259,096 |
| Argosy | $3,239,894 | -$35,709 | -1.1% | $0 |
| Hollywood Joliet | $1,187,212 | $196,959 | 16.6% | $24,865 |
| Totals | $875,387,789 | $63,297,910 | 7.2% | $10,967,295 |
February handle beats previous year by nearly $200 million
Illinois sports betting year-on-year handle was up nearly 30% in February, and was the sixth-highest total in the past year. However, February’s sub-$900 million tally broke a streak of four straight months of more than $1 billion in handle for Illinois sportsbooks.
| Month | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2022 | $679,374,199 | $31,074,381 | 4.6% | $5,720,366 |
| March 2022 | $971,278,389 | $79,421,037 | 8.2% | $9,758,140 |
| April 2022 | $839,386,882 | $68,234,791 | 8.1% | $11,321,487 |
| May 2022 | $764,591,757 | $65,214,388 | 8.5% | $10,838,258 |
| June 2022 | $628,459,522 | $40,981,475 | 6.5% | $6,576,948 |
| July 2022 | $516,414,719 | $43,849,539 | 8.5% | $7,392,918 |
| August 2022 | $564,837,409 | $64,628,599 | 11.4% | $7,694,847 |
| September 2022 | $831,805,990 | $83,533,801 | 10.0% | $12,559,685 |
| October 2022 | $1,029,560,184 | $91,569,752 | 8.9% | $16,350,363 |
| November 2022 | $1,029,615,448 | $96,937,248 | 9.4% | $15,581,846 |
| December 2022 | $1,028,471,257 | $81,407,470 | 7.9% | $13,186,151 |
| January 2023 | $1,070,033,292 | $88,552,064 | 8.3% | $15,410,653 |
| February 2023 | $875,387,789 | $63,297,910 | 7.2% | $10,967,295 |
Based on 2022’s handle data, it’s likely we’ll see the handle break $1 billion in March, then dip below that through the summer.
Illinois keeps national sports gambling grip on second place
While Illinois experienced a significant dip in sportsbook revenue in February, there was some good news. The state remained #2 in handle among states with sports betting, edging out New Jersey by around $28 million.
| Rank | State | Handle | Month-on-Month Change | Year-on-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $1.5 billion | -18% | -4% |
| 2 | Illinois | $875.4 million | -18% | 29% |
| 3 | New Jersey | $847.4 million | -22% | -24% |
| 4 | Nevada | $659.1 million | -30% | -16% |
| 5 | Ohio | $639.8 million | -43% | N/A |
| 6 | Pennsyvalnia | $599.5 million | -22% | 0% |
| 7 | Virginia | $433.8 million | -15% | 8% |
| 8 | Colorado | $425.1 million | -22% | -3% |
| 9 | Michigan | $357.2 million | -27% | -16% |
| 10 | Indiana | $356.2 millino | -17% | -13% |
More good news: Illinois’ 18% month-on-month drop in handle but year-on-year increase (YoY) was solid compared to other states. For example, New York, the leader in handle, saw an 18% drop in MoM and a 4% drop YoY. New Jersey‘s MoM handle dipped 22% and its YoY total sunk 14%.
In fact, among the top 10 states for handle in February, Illinois had the best YoY increase and the third-best MoM change.
