We might be near the end of November already, but the Illinois Gaming Board is just now tying up some loose ends from back in September. The September sports betting report is now out, and it was a record setting month for the state.
Total sports betting handle for the month came in at $1.08 billion, and that was about $5 million higher than the March 2023 numbers. Illinois just continues to post some large sports betting numbers as it’s the sixth time in 12 months to go over $1 billion.
The national sports betting handle for September is now over $11.5 billion, and the state of Kentucky still needs to report. It’s not likely that Kentucky will help the nation reach $12 billion, but it’s still a new record in this industry.
The gross revenue for the month was $86.2 million, and that number actually could have been a little bit higher. Illinois sportsbooks posted a hold rate of just under 8%, and many states throughout the country are reaching double-digits.
Year-over-year handle increased more than 30% in September, and the handle saw a jump of more than 60% from August. There have been a number of states that have seen a dip in both handle and revenue in 2023, but that hasn’t been the case in Illinois.
A Look at the Sportsbooks
Even though the state of Illinois has been putting up some huge sports betting numbers, there aren’t that many options available in the state. When it comes to the top operators in Illinois, DraftKings and FanDuel just continue to lead the way.
DraftKings Sportsbook posted a total sports betting handle of $402.9 million in September, becoming the first sportsbook to go over $400 million for a month. This operator posted a total hold rate of just 7.7%, but it did go over $30 million in revenue for the first time.
FanDuel Sportsbook was the revenue king in the state of Illinois as that number was up over $32 million. BetRivers Sportsbook continues to be in third place in both monthly handle and revenue.
Change in Some Operators
Circa Sportsbook entered the Illinois sports betting scene back in September, and that was the first time since March 2022 that a new operator launched. Sports bettors in the state were anxiously awaiting the launch of a new sportsbook, and it finally came with a big name.
PENN Entertainment was operating the Barstool Sportsbook app back in September, but it wasn’t seeing much action at all. That is no longer the case in Illinois as the ESPN BET app has now launched in the Land of Lincoln and beyond.
Betway Sportsbook was expected to apply for both an online and retail sports betting license in Illinois, but that is no longer the case. Betway has actually started to pull back out of some states in the U.S. and it knew that it could not generate a ton of action in Illinois.
