For the second straight month, Illinois was within $5 million in total betting handle of catching the state of New Jersey for second place on the list. The total sports betting handle for June in Illinois was $628 million, and over $600 million of that was wagered online.
New York is the clear sports betting leader in the United States, but Illinois sportsbooks are expected to move into second place if trends hold. The total sports betting handle has dropped over 35% since March in Illinois, but a slower sports calendar is to blame.
The total sports betting revenue in Illinois so far in 2022 is $344 million, and that is the second-highest total in the country. Illinois is closing in on $5 billion in total handle in 2022, and it will fly past that mark as soon as the July totals are available to the public.
Baseball was the most popular sport to wager on in June, as the total handle for that sport was over $222 million. The biggest surprise in the numbers is the fact that tennis was actually to move past basketball for third place.
Huge Growth Since 2021
Even though the month-to-month sports betting numbers in Illinois are heading in the wrong direction, Illinois is flying past their 2021 numbers. Illinois is on track to post a month with over $1 billion in the total handle at some point this Fall when both college and professional football return.
The total sports betting handle in 2022 through June is up nearly 50% from what sportsbooks saw in 2021. The revenue is also up 34%, and that allows the state of Illinois to cash in on even more tax revenue.
States all across the country have been seeing big jumps in 2022 compared to 2021, but not at the same rate as Illinois. The Illinois Gaming Board did remove the in-person registration requirement in March, and that has allowed bettors to create accounts online.
- Try using a FanDuel Promo Code in your state.
Two Operators Leading the Way
There continues to be just seven online sportsbooks in the state of Illinois, and that does limit the options for bettors. While all of the sportsbooks have helped the state post such impressive numbers, most of the action is coming at FanDuel and DraftKings.
FanDuel Sportsbook was the big winner in June as it led with $201.5 million in the handle and total revenue of $16.2 million. DraftKings Sportsbook was next on the list with a total handle of $185 million and revenue that totaled $10.8 million.
PointsBet and BetRivers continue to battle it out for the third spot on the list, but neither of those sportsbooks were even close to $100 million in handle in June. The analysts are expecting the new sportsbooks to launch at some point this Fall in Illinois.
