SPORTS BETTING
US – Illinois sports betting volume falls in June but still quickest to $5bn
By Phil - 6 August 2021
Sports betting in Illinois slowed in June to below $500m for the first time since December 2020 while revenue once again surged, as the effects of summer’s sports calendar and in-person registration requirements continued to be felt.
Even as the Prairie State remains in line with trends seen in most major US markets, Illinois managed to reach $5bn in lifetime handle quicker than any market in US history.
“Illinois sportsbooks is very much continuing down the same path as most major U.S. markets in June, with revenue surging despite the seasonal headwinds working to keep handle down,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayIllinois.com. “Fortunately for them, sportsbooks only have to endure one more month of sluggish action before the fall sports season reignites the industry.”
Illinois’ retail and online sportsbooks took in $476.5m in wagers in June, down 6.1 per cent from $507.3m in May, according to official data released Thursday. That is the lowest handle in the state since sportsbooks collected $449.2m in November 2020.
The month’s handle placed Illinois No. 3 in the US in June, behind New Jersey ($766.9m) and Nevada ($545.5m), but ahead of Pennsylvania ($420.2m). More impressive, June’s handle pushed the lifetime total for the state to $5.1bn. Illinois is just the fourth state to reach $5bn, and the state’s sportsbooks did it in 16 months, breaking New Jersey’s record of 18 months.
“Even with all the twists and turns over the last year, namely the back-and-forth with in-person registration requirements and pandemic restrictions, Illinois continues to break new ground,” said Joe Boozell, analyst for PlayIllinois.com. “Illinois bettors remain highly engaged, keeping the state entrenched among the nation’s sports betting heavyweights like Nevada and New Jersey.”
As June’s handle fell, gross gaming revenue rose 31.8 per cent to $48.2m from $36.6m in May. That is the third highest revenue total in state history. July’s gross revenue produced $47.5m in adjusted gross revenue, yielding $7.7m in state and local taxes.
The revenue jump is a product of the way bettors tend to engage with summer sports.
Basketball remained the top sport, attracting $126.9m in bets. Baseball betting remained relatively flat, producing $126.7m in bets. Meanwhile, parlay bets swelled to $101.1m, generating a whopping $22.8m in revenue. Tennis jumped to $40.3m in wagers from $32.6m in May.
“Bettors interact with individual sports like golf and tennis differently than major US team sports like football, placing more futures bets and single-game parlay bets that carry lower odds to win,” Ramsey said. “For sportsbooks those bets are particularly important during the summer when volume drops. And it puts sportsbooks in an excellent position as football season approaches.”
$451.7m, or 94.8 per cent, of June’s bets were made online. DraftKings/Casino Queen remained in the market lead with $160.2m in combined online and retail handle, down from $170.1m in May. June’s handle included $157.1m of online bets and $14m in gross gaming revenue.
FanDuel’s online and retail sportsbooks attracted $156.3m in bets in June, which was flat from May. The month’s bets, $155.3m of which came online, generated a market-leading $20.3m in gross gaming revenue.
The fight for market share was largely static in June. This as lawmakers continue to grapple with in-person registration requirements and a $20m licensing fee for online-only operators.
“Without a legislative fix, in-person registration will continue to be an issue that alters the market,” Boozell said. “Worse, if no operator pays the hefty online-only fee when those licenses become available in December it could make in-person registration permanent. We will see if legislators are able to either lower the price of the online-only licenses to make them more attractive or make it so that the online-only licenses aren’t the trigger for remote registration.”
