Illinois Posted $537.1 Million, Clinching the Second Spot in Sports Betting

April saw a significant reshuffle of the sports betting handle’s leaderboard, with Illinois clinching the second spot nationwide. This Wednesday, the figures registered by Illinois were a whopping 537.1 million dollars, as reported by the gaming board of the state. The disclosure came a little late for Illinois, which had quite a few jet lags compared to the other states. This was solely due to the rulings involving the disclosure of numbers. One that is dictated by accounting and a more extended period of operations. A record-breaking 633.6 million dollars was accrued for March that saw figures plummeting in April to the tune of 15.2 percent for Illinois. 

Two states accorded for clearing the wagers for the month that saw one-half billion dollars being lapped up. Illinois is one of the two. At the same time, 748 million dollars was recorded by New Jersey. Illinois earmarked itself with the April rankings nationally since the wagers found acceptance way back in March 2020. One that opened the portal in June for online operators to cash in on the opportunity. Nevada’s silver state handle posted a grim picture of 457.8 million in earnings. One that led to the downward slide of Nevada finishing fourth even behind Pennsylvania, which recorded a 479.4 million dollars through its betting handle. A first for Nevada finishing behind the number two spot for any given month in the era of post-PASPA. 

Joe Boozell, one of the analysts for PlayIllinois.com, was quick to quip how the declining figures for April were a certainty. This was majorly accredited to zero sports betting holidays to the likes of March Madness or NFL. This was doubled up with the in-person registrations that clogged the Illinois market. Thereby targeting the market cap, which was yet to be impacted drastically. The only way out being a legislative fix. April saw 43.6 million dollars as the gross revenue while the state yielded 6.5 million in taxes and 527,100 dollars in other local taxes.  

April wagering saw only one out of all the major markets in the US registering a month-on-month basis decline. The percentage of decrease was steeper for Illinois in comparison to New Jersey, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. The ones that recorded (-) 13, 13.6, and 14.4 percentage figures. The declining figures have been expected to be expectant given the sports betting field plagued by a seasonal drop in figures. Ones that especially start from April and stretches till the football season. 

Online handle secured by FanDuel sees revenue figures doubling up.

515.1 million dollars were totaled in the online wagering platform for April. One that accounted for ninety-six percent of the handle attributing 539 million dollars for full event completion. The monthly handle crown was accorded to FanDuel that carried on its extensive run at the numero uno spot as a revenue generator for Illinois. The figures totaled five months where FanDuel cashed in on a whopping 15.8 million dollars since August.