The Illinois Gaming Board just reported its monthly handle for February on Thursday. The second month of the year is when many states witness a solid decline in their handle compared to January, but the Prairie State registered a handle of $875.4 million.
Illinois Reclaims the Second Spot for the Month Yet Again
Despite Ohio clearing the $1.1 billion handle benchmark in its January launch, the state secured second place. However, that figure was bolstered by nearly $320 million in promotional credits, and that total fell sharply to $59.1 million in February as part of its $639.8 million overall handle.
The posted total was just behind what New York was able to accumulate, but this is the first time the Land of the Lincoln took the second spot since August. In the final quarter of 2022, Illinois was as close to reaching the benchmark while placing third throughout the final quarter of 2022.
It will take a lot for Arizona to surpass its all-time record of $691 million set in March 2022. Despite hosting the Super Bowl, major states such as New York, Nevada, and Pennsylvania reported lower handle numbers than last year.
Illinois is a part of the elite territory in the sports betting industry as the jurisdiction is just one of five states to surpass the $20 billion handle mark in the post-PASPA era. The only other states to achieve such a feat are New Jersey, Nevada, New York, and Pennsylvania.
In February, Illinois’ handle dropped 18.2 percent from January, ending a four-month streak of $1 billion-plus handles, but it was 28.9 percent higher than in February 2022. Based on a 7.8 percent hold, the adjusted revenue totaled $68.4 million.
The state collected $10.3 million in tax receipts, while Cook County received nearly $704,000 from its two percent levy on the $35.2 million in adjusted gross revenue generated by wagers made within the county, which includes the city of Chicago.
In the Month of February, How Did the Sportsbooks Fare?
Despite not releasing Super Bowl wagering statistics, the shift to overall negative football betting revenue was notable.
FanDuel took the big hit after paying out $975,631 on top of $14.8 million in the handle. As for hold, Caesars Sportsbook had the worst loss at -17.3%, as it lost $568,372 on $3.3 million wagered. With $20.2 million in the handle, DraftKings finished in the red with -$201,741.
Regardless of the results, FanDuel was still the top platform compared to its competitors, with a 10.9 percent hold rate (eight consecutive months of double figures). The bookmaker accumulated $33.2 million in revenue, which was clear of rival DraftKings. FanDuel won big in the parlay category with a hold rate of 24.6 percent and $25.5 million in winnings.
By registering 18.2 million in revenue, with an average win rate of 6.6 percent, the operator posted $18.2 million in the revenue category. Additionally, the company earned $10.3 million from parlays, with a 14.4% hold on $71.6 million.
On the other hand, Barstool struggled to find an edge in the parlay department, as the average win rate was 17.9 percent. Since entering the market in March 2021, the 4.6 percent hold rate was the lowest mark in its history.
BetRivers, which expanded its parlay offerings at the start of the year, had a 12.7 percent hold on $18.8 million in revenue. In the first two months of 2023, it generated more than $5.9 million in parlay revenue, compared to nearly $10.1 million for the entire year of 2022. March should be a better month for not only Illinois but for a majority of the industry.
