Illinois is the latest state with legal sports wagering to post record-breaking figures for the month of October.
According to the latest figures from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB), bettors in the state wagered $840m on sporting events in October.
The latest handle figure represents a 93.4% year-on-year increase on the $434.6m wagered this time last year as well as a 40.9% month-on-month increase on the $596.5m wagered in September 2021.
Not only did Illinois manage to improve month-on-month and year-on-year, but the state’s October figures also shattered the previous handle record of $633.6m that was set back in March.
Just like every other state with sports betting, Illinois benefited from a fifth full Friday through Sunday weekend in October. While almost every sports betting state posted record-breaking handle, not every state saw a revenue increase, mainly due to bettor-friendly results.
However, Illinois is one of the few states that saw handle and revenue rise together in October.
According to the figures, sportsbooks in the state managed to generate a combined $48.3m in revenue in October, setting a new record for the state’s betting market.
October’s revenue was up from the $44.6m generated in September 2021 as well as the $42.2m generated in October last year.
Operators in the state paid $8.5m in taxes to the state of Illinois.
DraftKings was the most popular online sportsbook
For the month of October, bettors in the state wagered $803.4m via online and mobile sportsbooks.
DraftKings was the most popular online sportsbook in October after processing $308.8m in bets. However, the online betting giant took second place with $11.7m in revenue for the month.
FanDuel followed in a distant second with $235.4m in bets but took the top spot for revenue after generating $22.3m.
Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers brand rounded out the top three for revenue and handle after generating $8m in revenue from $119m in bets.
Sportsbooks miss out on football revenue
Bettors in the state wagered $330.1m on football events in October, however, sportsbooks held onto just $6.4m in revenue.
The report does not break down the difference between professional football and college football, however, a total of $127.3m was wagered on college sporting events in October.
Basketball accounted for $93.3m of the state’s total handle and $3.3m of the state’s revenue.
Meanwhile, operators managed to generate $24.5m from the $118.7m wagered on parlays.
Illinois pushes total US October handle past $7bn
The results from Illinois’ sports betting market pushed the total US sports betting handle figure for the month of October past the $7bn mark, breaking the previous US handle record of $5.3bn from September.
New Jersey holds the top spot for October with an all-time high handle of $1.3bn, while Nevada snatched second place last month with $1.1bn in wagers.
With $840m in bets, Illinois has now snatched third place from Pennsylvania which posted $776.3m in betting handle for the month. Michigan slipped to fifth place with $497.6m in wagers.