The Illinois Gaming Board reported the state’s sports betting handle as sportsbook operators brought in $679.4 million for February compared to $867.5 million in January. This noted a substantial decline of 21.8 percent, but the market followed the national trend.
Illinois Sports Betting Handle Declines in February
Aside from the Super Bowl pushing the average betting volume, there weren’t many sports events that interest bettors across the industry. The lack of betting volume also affected the mobile sports betting handle.
The online sports gambling handle was $652.3 million, which is a decrease of 21.3 percent from January’s $829.1 million. However, when comparing the year-to-date numbers, February 2021’s handle was 33.1 percent higher than February 202’s $490.2 million.
Revenue also plummeted this month with an adjusted revenue of $35.6 million which was barely half the numbers the sportsbook operators accumulated a month ago that noted a total of $66.2 million, which was a decrease of 46.2 percent. The overall hold percentage for the bookmakers was 5.2 percent.
The hold percentage for February was 2.5 percent lower than the hold in the previous month. It was also the fifth time in seven months that the percentage was below the industry standard of seven percent. Still, the state was able to collect $5.8 million in taxes, which signified a decrease of 46.1 percent from January’s $10.7 million.
Despite the drop in the handle’s figures, Illinois joined an elite company in the industry. The Prairie State joined jurisdictions like New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania as the only states to surpass the $10 billion overall handle mark in the post-PASPA era.
What Was the Most Popular Sport to Bet on For the Month
With football out of the picture with the Super Bowl ending, bettors across the state turned to basketball. Basketball, as the most wagered sport, was also common in other states across the industry.
In Illinois, sportsbook operators compared accepted $289 million in wagers that involved basketball. Football secured the second position with $50.6 million. Tennis made up 56.8 million, and soccer brought in $37.8 million. Hockey rounded out the top five with a handle of $28 million.
The other sports category combined to surpass $55.1 million, and the parlay handle came to $146.4 million. As more monthly handles are being reported, Illinois ranks as the fourth-highest state in the industry.
New York ($1.534 billion), New Jersey ($985.6 million), and Nevada ($780.8 million) were ranked ahead of Illinois, while Pennsylvania ($597.1 million) was just behind the Prairie State to round out the top five.
Taking a Look at the Sportsbook Operators Market Share in Illinois
Even after acquiring William Hill, Caesars Sportsbook has struggled to find its footing in the Illinois sports betting market. It became the first operator to post losses in back-to-back months as bettors won $763,419 with more than $16.4 million in February with the help of promotional bets.
Caesars was responsible for four of the six mobile operator single-month losses in Illinois history. The other five sportsbook operators were able to bring in profits, with BetRivers leading the way with a win rate of 6.8 percent, which translated to a revenue total of $7.3 million from a handle of $106.8 million.
DraftKings’ handle witnessed the furthest drop with a handle of $207.8 million, which allowed FanDuel to take over first place with a handle of $211.3 million. PointsBet held the fourth spot with a handle of $57.7 million, and Barstool followed with a handle of $52.2 million.
