Illinois sports betting revenue dips for the first time in February

Illinois’s sports betting market experienced its first month-on-month decline in February, with the state’s Gaming Board reporting a fall in both revenue and handle.

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Adjusted gross revenue for the month amounted to $35.4m (£25.8m/€29.8m), down 28.3% from the record $49.4m reported in January, and the first decline since the state’s licensees took their first bets in July 2020.

Online wagering accounted for $33.3m of total revenue for the month, some way ahead of land-based sportsbooks on $2.1m.

Par-A-Dice Gaming Corporation, which runs a FanDuel sportsbook, remained the market with $11.7m in revenue, despite posting a $24,123 loss from retail betting.

Casino Queen and DraftKings followed close behind in second with $10.9m in revenue, then Churchill Downs’ Midwest Gaming & Entertainment and Rush Street Interactive on $7.5m.

Operators paid some $5.8m in tax, with the majority of this – $5.3m – based on the state’s base 15% tax rate. The remaining $541,832 was generated via an additional 2% tax on bets placed in Cook County, which includes Chicago.

In term of handle, players wagered a total of $509.8m on sport during February, down 12.3% from a record $581.6m in January.

Read the full story on iGB North America.