The day-by-day pace of betting slowed to $15.9m over the 30 days of June, which was down from $16.9m per day in May.
“Illinois sportsbooks are very much continuing down the same path as most major US markets in June, with revenue surging despite the seasonal headwinds working to keep handle down,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayIllinois.com.
While lower than the previous six months, Illinois sports betting still turned in the third-highest handle of active states in June. Sports betting in New Jersey turned in a $766.9m handle, while Nevada sports betting hit $545.5m.
June’s handle pushed the lifetime total for Illinois to $5.1bn, making it the fourth state to reach $5bn - doing so in 16 months, breaking New Jersey’s record of 18 months.
“Even with all the twists and turns over the last year, namely the back-and-forth with in-person registration requirements and pandemic restrictions, Illinois continues to break new ground,” said Joe Boozell, analyst for PlayIllinois.com.
“Illinois bettors remain highly engaged, keeping the state entrenched among the nation’s sports betting heavyweights like Nevada and New Jersey,” he added.
Gross gaming revenue rose to $48.2m from $36.6m in May. That is the third highest revenue total in state history, only surpassed by the record $49.9m set in March and $49.4m in January. July’s gross revenue produced $47.5m in adjusted gross revenue, yielding $7.7m in state and local taxes.
Basketball remained the top sport, attracting $126.9m in bets, down from $154.3m in wagering in May. Tennis jumped to $40.3m in wagers from $32.6m in May.
“Bettors interact with individual sports like golf and tennis differently than major US team sports like football, placing more futures bets and single-game parlay bets that carry lower odds to win,” Ramsey said.
