Sports betting in Illinois has exploded. Well, at least that’s what the numbers show and there are a few good reasons for the huge jump in wagering during September 2020. The new monthly record high of $305,223,938 can be attributed to a sports schedule that was nothing short of fully loaded along with the addition of more online sportsbooks being available to take your wagers. Let’s take a closer look at those and more factors that are putting Illinois deep into the action.
Breaking Down Some Stats
Compared to the previous monthly record handle of $139,643,887, recorded in August 2020, the September figures are more than double. That is a significant increase. To be fair, the August numbers released by the IGB (Illinois Gaming Board) was the first full month report issued. That is because the first report from the IGB included figures from March, June, and July. Remember, COVID-19 forced a shutdown of professional sporting activities and sports betting took a hit. The timing of that hit was severe in Illinois as the first legal brick-and-mortar sportsbooks opened in March of this year and the first online mobile sportsbooks entered the race in June. None of them were fully established when the COVID-19 shutdowns all but wiped professional sports off the radar.
But the shutdown of sports did not kill sports betting in Illinois. If anything, it helped sports betting companies to get their ducks in a row and launch their retail and online sites so they would be ready once sporting events resumed. For example, in March 2020 there were only two sportsbooks open. By September there were eight brick-and-mortar retail sites and 5 online sportsbooks operating legally within the state. That’s also an increase over the number of sportsbooks operating in August which was 6 brick-and-mortar and three online. To show you how significant the online sportsbooks are in Illinois, in September over $282.8-million of the total handle of $305.2-million was wagered online. That is a percentage of 92.67% producing a sportsbook revenue total for the month of $6,837,289.
The Numbers Related To Sportsbooks
Here’s where the stats get very interesting. The first and only online sportsbook to enter the Illinois market when sports betting was legalized was BetRivers. DraftKings came into the fold on August 19 followed by FanDuel on August 28. When you look at individual online sportsbook stats for September, you see a bit of a pattern developing. BetRivers totaled $98.5-million in betting followed closely by DraftKings with over $95.8-million in wagers. But the October figures are already predicted to be much higher than September’s monthly handle with the addition of PointsBet (which launched their mobile sportsbook September 12), and William Hill (which added their mobile site September 15). That brings the total of mobile online sportsbooks in Illinois to a total of five operations, as we noted above.
The Size of The Wagers Was Also Significant
This is another interesting set of stats as issued by the IGB. It revolves around bet size. For example, BetRivers saw wagering volume dip slightly from August but the average money spent per wager placed was $45.55. In August the average was $46.23 but still well above the average wager amounts recorded by both DraftKings ($25.23) and FanDuel ($23.26). As for more proof that Illinois bettors prefer placing their bets online, there is this unusual stat. It breaks down the type of bets placed and what the IGB refers to as Tier 1 betting (wagers that are for the final score/final outcome of a sports event that is placed before that event starts) tops the heap. FanDuel collected almost 2.5-million Tier 1 bets. DraftKings and BetRivers combined for a total of $2.27-million Tier 1 wagers.
The amount spent per Tier 1 wager saw BetRivers lead the pack with an average of $42.20 per bet. DraftKings was next at $24.71 and BetRivers rounded out the pack with $19.91. The Tier 2 betting stats show a slight shift. Tier 2 wagers are exotic bets and include such things as live in-game wagers. For these, DraftKings processed 1.99-million of these types of bets. BetRivers and FanDuel combined with 1.73-million Tier 2 wagers. The money per bet numbers for Tier 2 wagers put BetRivers ahead with an average of $47.93. FanDuel had $31.47 and DraftKings came up third out of three with $24.71. As you can see, online sports betting is big in Illinois.
How The New Kids On The Block Fared
PointsBet only came to the show midway through the month with 18 days of betting for their online sportsbook. That generated a handle of close to $8.9-million. They only opened their retail sportsbook at Hawthorne Race Course on September 30 so expect them to put a dent into the October numbers when they are released by the IGB. William Hill saw a handle of $1.3-million from 15-days in the game from Tier 1 wagers placed through their mobile sportsbook. They also have a retail site at the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin which processed almost 9,200 Tier 1 wagers. Keep in mind that all state retail sportsbooks are operating under COVID-19 restrictions which include reduced hours of operation and a 25% capacity limit. This has also contributed to the interest in bettors using online sportsbooks.
In Conclusion
You probably couldn’t have written this plot for a movie, but the deeper the story goes into the ongoing history of online sports betting in Illinois, the more interesting the plot twists become. With more online sportsbooks opening and state legislators extending the opportunity for residents to register their online betting accounts remotely over and over again, anything is possible. The bottom line is that with a 15% taxation on sportsbooks, the state figures to make out well the better the sportsbooks do each month. So, if you haven’t done so already, it is time to get your online sports betting account in order, and right now, you have five different online operators to choose from. While there is potential for more to launch, there is no guarantee that remote registration will be allowed past the latest extension into mid-December.
