Illinois Knocks Off New Jersey as the Second-Best Sports Betting Market in April

For the eighth straight month, our best sports betting sites in Illinois and the state's retail providers combined to top $1 billion in wagering activity. Those numbers helped the Land of Lincoln cement itself as the country's second-most successful sports betting jurisdiction, behind New York.

With the Illinois Gaming Board's April revenue report released, the Illinois sports betting scene has generated at least $1 billion in monthly handle 13 times. April also made Illinois the fourth state to eclipse $35 billion in lifetime revenue. Only the New Jersey sports betting, New York sports betting, and Nevada sports betting scenes have managed to reach that milestone.

Revenues for Illinois sports betting apps were respectable in April, as were tax contributions from the industry. With the “progressive tax” rate structure coming into effect on July 1, April will be one of the last months that operators will get to keep so much of their revenues. Illinois’ tax rate increases from 15% to a minimum of 20%, which goes up from there depending on a sportsbook’s profits.

The two betting behemoths in the state, FanDuel and DraftKings, will see their tax rates jump significantly from 15% to 40%.

$1.1 billion April handle

Illinois best sportsbooks accepted a total of $1.1 billion in wagers in April, good for the second highest in the nation. While that was a 12.7% month-over-month drop from $1.26 billion in  March, it does represent a nice 22.8%  year-over-year spike from the nearly $898.6 million from April 2023.

With April’s totals added, Land of Lincoln sports bettors have spent $4.7 billion with Illinois sports betting apps and retail providers this year. That puts the state on track for a $14 billion handle for 2024 as residents continue to take advantage of Illinois sportsbook promos.

$92 million in adjusted revenue

Illinois sportsbooks are reporting just under $92 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for April. It is a slight 2.7% increase from April 2023 when the handle was over $200 million less. It is an almost $11 million of 7.5% month-over-month drop from the just over $103.8 million from March.

The win rate for Illinois best sportsbooks in April was 8.3%. That compares to 8.2% in March and just under 10% in April 2023.

A total of $13.8 million in taxes was paid by Illinois sports betting apps and the state’s retail providers in April, taking the year-to-date total to $61.5 million. This years figures outpace the first four months of last year by $8.9 million.

With the progressive tax rate slated to start in July, contributions from state providers is about to skyrocket, and will likely dwarf the tax payments just seen in April.

Split decision in handle/revenue race

FanDuel Illinois and DraftKings Illinois each claimed victory in one of the two main measuring metrics during April. DraftKings Illinois won the handle battle while FanDuel was tops for the month in terms of revenues. You can check them out using our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code.

FanDuel was the top performing Illinois sportsbook with regard to revenues in April. It made up $386.9 million of the state’s overall handle and generated $43.8 million in revenues off of an 11.3% hold. 

DraftKings accepted the most bets in the Illinois market in April with $400.3 million. It reported $27.9 million in revenue off of a slightly under 7% hold.

BetRivers checked in third in both handle and revenues in Illinois in April. It accepted $71.5 million in wagers and reported $5.4 million in winnings off of a 7.6% hold.

It was a close race for fourth in terms of revenues. ESPN BET Illinois claimed that spot with $3.7 million in winnings, BetMGM Illinois finished with just under $3.7 million and Fanatics generated $3.6 million in revenue in the Illinois market in April.

Caesars Sportsbook Illinois saw $2.2 million in April profits, while Circa Sports Illinois reported just $22,842 in April profits.

Parlays behind majority of revenue

As has become common in most U.S. legal sports betting states, parlay wagers were responsible for a reasonable share of the overall wagering handle and a good portion of the state’s monthly revenues. 

In April $307.4 million was placed on multi-leg wagers, about 27.8% of the state’s overall handle. They were also responsible for 68.2% of the revenue total. 

Parlays will likely be responsible for bumping the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings into the higher “progressive tax” brackets. FanDuel made $133.1 million on parlays in April, which alone would put it in the 35% tax bracket. DraftKings reported $80.6 million in winnings, which would land it in the 30% bracket.