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Illinois betting handle grows 42.4% in October

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Illinois’ sports betting market grew once again in October, with amounts wagered up 42.4% month-over-month to $434.6m, and revenue jumped to $42.2m as the vertical’s rapid growth in the state continued.

The vast majority of bets were placed online, with betting on professional sports made up $335.8m of the channel’s handle. A further $73.8m was staked on collegiate sports online, while $237,108 was bet on motorsports. 

Retail handle, at a time when access to land-based gaming remains significantly limited as a result of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions, lagged behind.

In-person bettors staked $19.9m on professional sports, then a further $4.9m on collegiate sports, and $18,581 on motorsports. 

For the first time since the market went live, Rush Street was replaced as the main driver of customer activity by DraftKings, which handled $141.4m in stakes in October, generating taxable revenue of $11.5m. 

Rush Street’s Kambi-powered sportsbook fell back to second place in terms of stakes, at $115.5m, though continued to lead the market in revenue on $12.9m for the month. 

FanDuel, partnered with Boyd Gaming’s Par-A-Dice, followed in third with amounts wagered totalling $105.3m, and revenue coming to $11.1m.

The state generated $6.8m in taxes from sports betting during the month.

Since the state’s first bets were placed on March 9, Illinois bettors have wagered $941.7m, meaning the state could break $1bn in handle in less than a year post-launch. 

These stakes have resulted in year to date revenue of $60.3m – meaning the bulk was generated in October – from which operators have paid back $9.7m in taxes to state coffers.