Content on this page may include affiliate links. If you click and sign up/place a wager, we may receive compensation at no cost to you.
Impressive Illinois betting streak ends in June
After accumulating at least $1 billion in sports betting handle for nine straight months, Illinois fell short of the mark in June.
Illinois’ nine-month streak of taking in more than $1 billion in sports betting handle has come to an end.
For the first time since Aug. 2023, the Land of Lincoln wagered less than $1 billion on sports. The state reported a betting handle of $848 million for June.
The summer months are the slowest on the sports betting calendar, with nearly all states reporting declining numbers month-over-month. July and August are likely to provide similar results, but there’s little doubt that the numbers will come back up in September, when the NFL and college football seasons get underway.
Impressive year-over-year growth
On the surface, Illinois going from a $1.02 billion betting handle in May to an $848 million handle in June could be viewed as a negative. A 16.6% month-over-month decline isn’t an ideal result. However, a look at the numbers compared to this time last year will highlight how much the Illinois market has grown.
In June 2023, Illinois took in just $668.2 million in betting handle. This means the 2024 June numbers represent an impressive 23.7% year-over-year improvement. Illinois’ June 2024 numbers are second best in the nation, behind only New York. Illinois has surpassed $6.5 billion in betting handle year-to-date.
In June, all-time revenue generated by the operators in Illinois surpassed $3 billion. Illinois became only the third state to reach that mark behind New York and New Jersey.
Illinois sportsbooks took in $94.6 million in revenue this June. While that is a 6.2% decrease from May, the number marks a nearly 73% increase from June 2023.
DraftKings, FanDuel continue to dominate
Unsurprisingly, DraftKings and FanDuel continue to compete at the top of the sports betting industry in Illinois with no real competition in sight.
DraftKings came out on top in the month of June, accepting $322.8 million worth of bets while generating $38.6 million in revenue. FanDuel was right behind, capturing a handle of $280.3 million while generating $36.4 million in revenue.
BetRivers was a distant third, taking in $53.4 million in betting handle while earning $4.8 million in revenue.
Baseball led the way for Illinois sports betting in June, generating a betting handle of $241.5 million. Basketball betting handle was at $98.8 million. That number combines both the NBA Finals and regular-season WNBA bets. Tennis ($81m) and soccer ($53m) were popular bets thanks to major tournaments. The last few days of the Stanley Cup Finals produced nearly $20 million in betting handle for Illinois.
June is the final month of the fiscal calendar in Illinois, meaning the state will be implementing its new tax rates on operators beginning in July. Market leaders such as FanDuel and DraftKings will certainly reach the highest threshold of the progressive sliding scale, meaning they will be taxed at 40%. This is up from the flat 15% tax rate charged up until this point.