Illinois Releases October Figures

The Illinois Gaming Board has finally released the October sports betting numbers, and it was another record-setting month for the state.

Total IL sports betting handle came in at more than $434 million, which was an increase of more than 42 percent from September.

The $434 million pushed Illinois to the fourth-largest sports betting market in the United States, and the market continues to grow. Illinois launched sports betting on March 9, but the online sports betting portion did not launch until June.

Mobile betting accounted for more than $410 million of the $434 million total in Illinois, making up almost 94 percent of the total. Retail sports betting was expected to dominate the Illinois market, but orders from the governor have given mobile sportsbooks the edge.

The adjusted gross revenue was also up in October, climbing to $42.2 million. This was an increase of more than 517 percent as September brought in just $6.8 million in adjusted gross revenue.

DraftKings Sportsbook led the way with $138.4 million in wagers during October, while FanDuel Sportsbook came in second with $105.2 million in wagers. These two sportsbooks were expected to dominate the market upon working around the “penalty box” rules put in place by Illinois lawmakers.

There were 11.7 million wagers placed during the month of October in Illinois, and 4.65 million of those were placed on football games. Parlay wagers accounted for 3.5 million of the total bets placed.

Remote Registration Period Extended

The retail sports betting industry in Illinois has been largely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but online sports betting is alive and well. Governor J.B. Pritzker has played a large role in this as he has issued an executive order to remove the in-person registration requirement.

Pritzker has extended this order several times, and he did it again on Dec. 11. Remote registration has been extended through Jan. 9, but there is a chance that this law could be changed by Illinois lawmakers.

The in-person registration requirement was initially put in place to keep online-only operators out of Illinois, but sites such as DraftKings and FanDuel have been able to partner with casinos to enter Illinois.

Entire Industry Setting Records

Now that Illinois has finally released the sports betting numbers from October, the entire US industry has officially set a new record. Total sports betting handle throughout the United States rose to more than $3.25 billion in October, easily shattering a new record.

New Jersey led the way in October with a total sports betting handle of more than $803 million. Since that time, New Jersey has released the November figures, and the sports betting handle last month was more than $934 million.

Eighty percent of the states that have launched sports betting in the United States set new records in October, and much of the same is expected in November. There was a small dip in the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, but sports betting is now back on track.

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