Illinois sportsbooks report April handle of $537m, 2nd highest in US
Illinois sportsbooks generated April handle of $537m, the second highest in the nation.
Handle was down 15.2% from a record March haul of $634m, the result of a spring slow down to the US sports calendar.
Illinois joined New Jersey ($748m) as the only states to break the $500m handle mark in April. The Lincoln State finished well ahead of Pennsylvania ($479m) and Nevada ($458m) among the top markets.
Illinois, the last state to report April handle, puts US April sports wagers at $3.7bn, a decline of 20% from the $4.6bn wagered in March.
Illinois sports betting revenue was $43.6m for the month, down just 1.6% from March revenue of $44.3m. The discrepancy in handle versus revenue declines is primarily a result of heavy promotions and free-play credits in March, when sportsbooks were reeling in customers for the NCAA Tournament.
$513m, or 95.5%, of all April wagers were placed online. The overwhelming demand for online sports betting comes despite Illinois ending online sportsbook registration on April 4.
Retail sportsbooks should benefit from mandatory in-person registration. In April retail handle amounted to $23.9m.
FanDuel/Fairmont surpassed DraftKings/Casino Queen for the market lead in handle. FanDuel/Fairmont recorded wagers of $178m, compared to DraftKings/Casino Queen handle of $170m.
“FanDuel catching DraftKings is a seismic shift in the dynamics of the market, and a credit to FanDuel’s campaign to register bettors ahead of in-person registration,” said Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayUSA Network.
BetRivers/Rivers Casino was a distant third at $84.3m, while Barstool/Hollywood Casinos were fourth with $51.4m.
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