Illinois Sportsbooks Hit $400 Million in Wagering in August

"Interest in baseball, particularly the White Sox, coupled with the return of football in August set the stage for what will certainly be the busiest four-month stretch ever for Illinois' legal sports betting industry," said Eric Ramsey, analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayIllinois.com. "After summer, any gain is welcome. But the gains in August should pale in comparison to what we see with a full football schedule."

Illinois' retail and online sportsbooks accepted $400.4 million in bets in August, up 185.8% from $140.1 million in August 2020 and up 8.5% from $369.1 million in July, according to official data released Tuesday. The per-day betting volume grew to $12.9 million over the 31 days of August, up from $4.5 million per day in August 2020 and $11.9 million per day in July.
Gross gaming revenue fell 12.3% to $32.7 million in August from $37.3 million in July, which produced $26.8 million in adjusted gross revenue. August's profit yielded $4.3 million in state and local taxes.

Baseball garnered the most interest in August, drawing $139.6 million in wagers, up from $124.0 million of action in July. Tennis ($43.4 million) and soccer ($30.8 million) drew significant interest, too. With just a handful of college and NFL preseason games, in addition to futures betting, football attracted $17.2 million in wagering.

August's volume helped push the industry to $4.0 million in wagers and $326.3 million in gross gaming revenue for the year. And with football projected to draw more than $20 billion in wagering across the country, the state could reach $6 billion in wagers and $500 million in gross revenue by year's end.

"There is little question that the final four months of the year will bring an onslaught of fresh records," said Joe Boozell, lead analyst for PlayIllinois.com. "The biggest unknown is how much will in-person registration and the ban on wagering on in-state college teams drag on betting volume. We know it will be a strong finish to the year for sportsbooks, but it won't be as good for the industry as it could have been."

August's wagering included $380.2 million in online bets, accounting for 95.0% of the state's handle. DraftKings/Casino Queen topped Illinois again with $149.2 million in combined online and retail handle, up from $122.7 million in July. The operator took in a market-best $146.6 million in online wagers, too. In all, DraftKings generated a market-leading $11.3 million in gross gaming revenue, a notable gain from $9.5 million in July after the operator began offering profitable same-game parlays.

FanDuel was second with $111.5 million in online and retail wagers, down from $118.5 million in bets in July. $110.9 million of August's wager came online. The result was $10.5 million in gross gaming revenue.

"The return of football brings in high betting volume, which is a motivator for every operator," Boozell said. "But the value of football season for sportsbooks isn't just in short-term profitability. Strong engagement offers sportsbooks an opportunity to grow their customer base by using aggressive promotions and other marketing strategies. And that can pay off even after the football season ends."