Retail and online sportsbooks combined generated $840.4m in wagers for the month, breaking the previous record of $633.6m for March.
Wagers increased by 41% compared to September and by 93% compared to the same month of the previous year.
Gross revenue rose to $48.3m, showing a 3% increase year-on-year. However, October didn’t beak March’s gross revenue record of $49.9m. Taxable revenue did reach a new record, getting to $52.6m in adjusted gross revenue, yielding $8.5m in state and local taxes.
This month’s growth was generated by the busy sports calendar that included five weekends of football (which attracted $330.1 in wagers) and the opening of the NBA season (which generated $93.3m in bets).
Online betting represented 97% of the state’s total handle.
DraftKings led the state with $315.3m in combined online and retail handle (including $308.8m in online wagers). FanDuel followed with $236.7m in online and retail wagers (including $235.4m in online bets).
Commenting on the state’s betting market, Joe Boozell, Lead Analyst for PlayIllinois, said: "The Illinois sports betting market is thriving in spite of the current online registration rules, so it's exciting to imagine what it will look like when sportsbooks are untethered.
“A surge of new operators will certainly come. And there are an untold number of Illinoisans sitting on the sidelines interested in making a bet through an online sportsbook, but not enough to make a trip to a retail sportsbook to register."
