Illinois sports betting handle hits record $971m in March

The state registered a year-on-year increase of 53 per cent and broke the $867.5m record set in January.

US.- Illinois sportsbooks took $971.3m in wagers in March, breaking the $867.5m record set in January. The handle was up 53 per cent from $633.6m in March last year and 43 per cent from February’s $679.3m. Some $278.4m was wagered on March Madness, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The Illinois Gaming Board reported $79.4m in gross revenue from March’s bets, up 59.2 per cent year-on-year (March 2021: $49.9m) and up 155.6 per cent from $31.1m in February. The win generated $9.8m in state and local taxes.

Online sports wagering accounted for 95.5 per cent of all bets in March, with a handle of $927.5m. FanDuel in Collinsville led the way with $315.3m in online and retail wagers, including $310.7m in online wagering. DraftKings in East St. Louis came second with $289.2m in combined online and retail handle, including $284.2m in online bets. BetRivers had a handle of $105.9m.

Basketball bets, including both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, as well as the NBA led the market with $554.3m in straight wagers. Aside from parlay betting, tennis was the next most popular bet, with $64m in wagers.

Jake Garza, PlayIllinois Analyst, said: “March Madness and the removal of in-person registration proved a powerful combination. This is what a less-restrained market in Illinois looks like.”

“Without football or college basketball to spur interest in the coming months, March will be the last huge month until football season,” Garza added. “But the NBA playoffs, baseball, and major golf tournaments will keep bettors interested, even if we have to wait until September for the state’s first $1bn month.”

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