Illinois set a state record in November for mobile sports betting handle, taking in almost $989.6 million in wagers. That was up 0.03% from October (about $989.3 million, the previous record), and up 32.7% from November 2021 (about $746 million).
The exact total of $989,597,521 wagered online at Illinois sportsbook apps beat the month-old record by just over $300,000.
The November total sports betting handle, mobile and retail combined, was $1,029,519,265, down a tiny 0.004% (actually only about $41,000) from October ($1,029,560,184), when the state set a record.
Second Consecutive Month Over $1 Billion
The amount of money placed on Illinois sportsbooks has exceeded $1 billion in consecutive months, making the state one of four to hit 10 figures in handle in any month. New York, New Jersey and Nevada are the others.
Last month’s handle figure was a 32.0% increase in a year-over-year comparison with November 2021 ($779,853,367).
Illinois has taken its place among the top tier of sports wagering states, jockeying with New Jersey for the No. 2 spot behind runaway sports gambling handle leader New York. Illinois was third behind its East Coast brethren in November (New York had $1.56 billion in handle, New Jersey $1.1 billion) but well ahead of fourth-place Nevada ($929 million).
Fewer Restrictions, More Money
The jumps in same-month, year-over-year comparisons from 2021 to 2022 reflect a loosening of restrictions on online registration for customers.
In terms of revenue, November produced $96,969,201, the second-highest total in state history. Again, the record was set in the October Illinois sports betting revenue report, when the state exceeded $100 million for the first time at $102,088,548
Last month’s revenue was a 5% decline from that record level, but a 22.2% boost over the $79,327,385 from November 2021.
Illinois Sports Betting Handle, November vs. October
November’s sports betting tax was $15.7 million, down 4.7% from October ($16.5 million).
The top five sports in November, by handle: Football, $289,289,532; basketball, $260,722,958; tennis, $71,094,576; soccer, $64,527,619; hockey, $30,257,793. “Other sports” handle was $43,178,720, and parlay handle was $248,262,363.
There are no Illinois online casinos but the physical casinos in the state combined for about $114.4 million in revenue for December. The casinos report their revenue for electronic gaming devices and table games about a month before the sports betting figures are released.
