Illinois April Sports Gambling Revenue Tops $81 Million, Only Behind New York

Illinois sportsbooks generated $898,571,938 in handle in April, according to the monthly report released by the Illinois Gaming Board this week.

The April figure represents a 16% monthly decrease from March’s (record) total of nearly $1.073 billion. Although April’s numbers considerably declined compared to March, the betting handle shows a 7% yearly increase from April 2022’s $839 million. The betting handle is the total amount of money bet by players at a sportsbook over a given period.

In terms of revenue, Illinois sportsbooks generated more than $81 million in April. The revenue figure also shows a monthly decrease compared to the $107.4 million generated in March.

Illinois sports betting handle, revenue and taxes in second place for April

According to the April figures, Illinois sportsbooks’ betting handle, revenue and taxes ranked second in the US.

Illinois’ monthly handle is behind New York, which generated over $1.55 million in bets. New Jersey came in third with a total handle of almost $834 million. Here’s a breakdown of the top 5 states in betting handle for April:

1. New York — $1.55 billion
2. Illinois — $898.57 million
3. New Jersey — $833.98 million
4. Nevada — $580.55 million
5. Massachusetts — $574.83 million

Illinois was also second in revenue, generating more than $81.31 million. New York was again first with almost $139.27 million. New Jersey is third, with a revenue of over $72.30 million. Here’s a bigger scope:

1. New York — $139.27 million
2. Illinois — $81.31 million
3. New Jersey — $72.30 million
4. Ohio — $63.82 million
5. Massachusetts — $60.28 million

Regarding sports betting taxes collected throughout last month, Illinois comes in second too. The state’s 10 sportsbooks gathered almost $14.43 million. New York was again first with $70.84 million, and Pennsylvania came in third with $13.33 million in taxes. These are the top 5 US sportsbook states in terms of taxes collected last month:

1. New York — $70.84 million (at a betting tax rate of 50.9%)
2. Illinois — $14.43 million (with a betting tax of 17.7%)
3. Pennsylvania — $13.33 million (tax rate 25.7%)
4. Massachusetts — $11.80 million (at a flat rate of 24%)
5. New Jersey — $10.12 million (24% federal tax rate)

Monthly decrease in Illinois sportsbooks’ revenue and handle figures expected

As PlayIllinois noted, the decline can be attributed to several factors.

First off, there were no Chicago teams to bet on in the NBA and NHL playoffs. Likewise, there were no NFL games to attract bettors’ attention.

Only the NCAA basketball tournament’s Final Four and championship games occurred in April.

However, this kind of decrease from March to April was expected. Moreover, March is usually among the busiest betting months due to the men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments.