In April of this year, sports betting in Illinois increased by 22.8% on a year-on year basis to $1.10bn. (PS868.2m/EUR1.03bn). Revenue also increased.
It was a 22% increase over the 898.6m bet in April of last year. It was still down from $1.26bn wagered in Illinois during March this year.
Around $1.07bn of the amount wagered by the public in April was bet on the eight platforms online available to the state. In-person wagering accounted for $31.8m of the total amount wagered in April.
The most popular sport was professional sports, which attracted $1.05 billion in wagers. Of this amount, $1.02 billion were bet online while $29.1 million was wagered on-site. This data is published by the Illinois Gaming Board and does not break down by sport.
The total amount of college sports bets was $44.3m. This is divided into $41.7m for online betting and $2.6m for retail. Other $640,758 went to motor racing betting, which included $608,030 in online wagering and $32,728 on-site.
FanDuel is the top game in April
FanDuel was the top operator in Illinois in terms of revenues. FanDuel reported $43.8m from $386.9m of total bets in April.
DraftKings was better than DraftKings in terms of the number of bets (400.3m). It lags behind in terms of revenue, however. With $27.9m for the month.
BetRivers, with $5.4m of revenue and $71.5m handled in total, is another standout performer. ESPN Bet’s revenue was $3.7m. This is slightly ahead of BetMGM (3.7m) as well as Fanatics (3.60m).
Caesars, the last of the big brands to be included in the list, rounded out the top five with a revenue of $2.2 million for April.
Revenue edges up in Illinois
In April, adjusted sports wagering revenue reached $92.0m. The revenue was up 2.7% compared to Illinois in the previous year, but it fell 7.5% compared to March’s $103.8m.
Online betting revenue generated $90.4m for April. Land-based gambling generated just $1.6m in total revenues during April.
Cook County (which includes Chicago) accounted for 46,8 million dollars of all revenues. The second most populous US county is Los Angeles, in California.
Illinois taxed sports betting $13.8m during the month of April. The total tax collected in April was $13.8m, including $13.6m for online gambling and $239.536 for the retail market.
Illinois tax hike ruffles the feathers
These results are a result of the Illinois lawmakers’ approval in May to increase sports betting taxes.
The Illinois house of Representatives passed an increased wagering tax of 40% on the biggest sports bettors in Illinois, up from 15%.
The rates are set between 20 and 40 percent depending on the adjusted gaming revenues (AGR) of each operator. The highest tax rate is 40% for operators with revenues over $200m. This rate is the second highest in the US, behind New York’s 51%.
Tax rates for other operators are 20% for those with AGRs under $30m; 25% between $50m and $100m; 30% from $100m up to $50m; and 35% from $100m to 200m.
The move, however, has created some disturbances in the future. Brendan Bussmann, of B Global, an industry consultancy that serves the sports, gaming and hospitality sectors, has warned other states may follow suit.
Bussmann questioned also the decision of punishing the biggest tax contributors in Illinois. He said that increasing taxes would have an adverse impact on the market. Operators may withdraw promotional offers, reduce their offerings, and even offer lower odds if they are faced with higher costs.
