Make room in the billion-dollar sports wagering handle club for Illinois.
Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter announced Thursday during the agency’s meeting that October’s traditional handle was just short of $1.03 billion, making Illinois the first Midwestern state to reach the milestone figure and fourth overall along with New Jersey, Nevada, and New York.
The completed events handle was actually higher at slightly more than $1.04 billion, as multiple Major League Baseball futures were settled, most notably yes/no playoff options as well as division and league winners. The previous record for handle in Illinois was $971.3 million in March, aided by the NCAA Tournament and by BetMGM launching operations as the state’s seventh and still most recent mobile wagering option.
The traditional total was the 18th highest for any state in the post-PASPA era and the 20th revenue report showing $1 billion handle in a month. It was also 22.5% higher than the $840.4 million in accepted wagers in Illinois in October 2021.
Fruchter also detailed a record monthly adjusted revenue total of $102.1 million, making Illinois the third state to post a nine-figure revenue total, along with New Jersey and New York. The October figure was the eighth-highest total in the post-PASPA era for any state and ninth over $100 million all-time.
Illinois’ October handle was approximately $30.6 million less than New Jersey, while its $7.7 billion in handle through the first 10 months of the year has already exceeded the handle for all of 2021. Illinois also all but wrapped up the No. 3 spot among all states for 2022, enjoying a spread of more than $800 million over fourth-place Nevada.
FanDuel’s remoreseless parlay machine rolls on
October #SportsBetting numbers for #Illinois via IGB, a 🧵. Parlay mini-thread. The @FDSportsbook chronicles:
-1st $100M+ parlay handle
-1st $30M+ revenue
-6th time in 7 months with 20%+ WR
-4th time in 7 months with 25%+ WR
-YTD: $756.8M/$174.1M/23.01%17/x #GamblingTwitter
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) December 8, 2022
As the market leader for overall sports wagering and first mover in same-game parlay plays, FanDuel‘s win rate in the parlay category has almost taken on a life of its own in states that furnish such numbers. Illinois does provide those statistics, and the October numbers were astounding.
FanDuel became the first mobile operator to post more than $100 million handle for such plays, contributing to an all-time state record of $32.8 million in parlay revenue for a 29.6% win rate. It was the fourth time in seven months FanDuel had a parlay hold of 25% or higher. FanDuel accounted for more than half the record $60.4 million parlay revenue as the amount shattered the previous best of $44.2 million last November.
FanDuel was not the only mobile operator to make hay on parlays, as five of the seven books had win rates of 20% or higher. PointsBet joined FanDuel in the rarified air of 25% by claiming $4.9 million from $19.4 million handle. DraftKings also saw more than half its revenue originate from parlay wagers, collecting $13.9 million from $85.5 million handle.
All seven operators cleared $1 million in parlay revenue, with BetRivers the low book on the totem pole at slightly under $1.3 million. BetMGM had the lowest win rate among the group at 14.1%, well off the overall 23.3% from a record $259.3 million total state handle on such plays.
Public fares well in single-event wagering
October #SportsBetting numbers for #Illinois via IGB, a 🧵. Mobile Han/Rev/WR by sport category (completed handle)
⚾️: $78.97M/$4.96M/6.28%
🏀: $114.39M/$3.47M/3.03%
🥊 (Box/MMA): $8.03M/$173.4K/2.16%8/x #GamblingTwitter
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) December 8, 2022
If one removes the operator rout on parlays from the October numbers, it shows Illinois bettors more than held their own in single-event wagering. The sportsbooks’ win rate on those bets was a far more pedestrian 5.3%, with operators taking $41.7 million from $780.8 million handle.
Football wagering represented the largest portion of the month’s handle, totaling a record $358.2 million. While operators did pick up $23.5 million in revenue, they had a more modest 6.6% hold. Tennis revenue rounded out the podium spots at $5.5 million, with futures payouts limiting the revenue in the baseball category to just shy of $5 million.
Basketball handle was the only sport besides football to reach nine figures at $114.4 million, with the betting public limiting the house to a 3% win rate and less than $3.5 million revenue. The other seven-figure revenue total came from soccer, as operators collected $2.6 million from $43.6 million wagered. The public almost broke even betting on hockey, as the house came out just $293,498 ahead for a 1.1% hold.
Multiple handle and revenue records fall
DraftKings and FanDuel became the first operators to clear $300 million handle in Illinois in a month, with DraftKings leading all books at $338.6 million and FanDuel $326.2 million for traditional handle. BetMGM topped $50 million for the first time since launch, finishing at $52.6 million, while Caesars also reached an all-time high at $47.6 million. PointsBet came within $2 million of its all-time high at $75.2 million, while Barstool cleared $50 million for the first time since March with $51.4 million in accepted wagers.
FanDuel’s $43.4 million in revenue is also an all-time high in the state, and its year-to-date revenue climbed past $260 million. The 13.2% hold was the fourth consecutive month it had a double-digit win rate, and FanDuel’s all-time hold in Illinois inched over 10%.
DraftKings also had an all-time revenue best at $24.1 million, marking the second time straight month it cleared $20 million and third time overall. BetRivers’ $9.3 million in revenue was its second-highest total of 2022, but it also failed to reach $100 million handle for the seventh consecutive month, at $97.5 million.
PointsBet bounced back from Marco Piemonte’s $3 million payday in September as the Australian-based book claimed $6.4 million in winnings — its second-highest total all-time, behind only the $6.6 million collected in March. With $4.7 million, BetMGM edged out Barstool Sportsbook for fifth by less than $100,000, while Caesars’ record $3.6 million haul was not enough to avoid last place.
The St. Louis metro area is retail focus
The record $6 million in brick-and-mortar sportsbook revenue was largely fueled along the Illinois-Missouri border, where Argosy Casino and DraftKings at Casino Queen both had banner months. Casino Queen in East St. Louis shattered its monthly record at nearly $1.5 million thanks to a bruising 22.7% hold, while the Argosy’s $865,084 in revenue marked its first month above $700,000.
Rivers Casino continued to be the pacesetter and set an all-time state high of nearly $2.2 million while notching its second month above $2 million. The Des Plaines venue topped $15 million handle for the third time in 2022 and sixth time overall.
Caesars’ retail tether, Grand Victoria Casino, led all brick-and-mortar locations with a 26.1% hold, contributing to a record $414,251 revenue total that pushed it above $1 million for the year.
