Illinois sportbooks generate nearly $80m in November

Illinois sportsbooks won nearly $80m during the month of November.

With the third-most revenue in the country in November, Illinois is a significant contributor to a month-long surge in revenue. So far, the state has totaled $658.5m across legal US sports betting markets, according to PlayIllinois, which tracks the state’s regulated online gaming and sports betting market.

Bettors poured $779.8m in wagers into the state’s retail and online sportsbooks in November. This fell short of the $840.4m in wagers that were placed in October, according to official data.

Betting volume dipped to $26m per day over the month’s 30 days. This was a drop from $27.1m per day over the 31 days in October. Year-over-year, wagers were up 74% in November from $449.2m in November 2020.

Gross revenue rose 112% to a record $78.2m in November from $37.0m in November 2020.

Football betting slipped to $257.1m in November from $330.1m in wagers during a five-weekend October. This was due to November having four full weeks in it, with the Chicago Bears only playing three games. Exuberance over the Chicago Bulls helped fuel $226.3m in betting on basketball, up from $93.3m in October. Tennis generated $39.8m, soccer $27.8m and hockey $24.8m.

DraftKings/Casino Queen topped the state with $288.7m in combined online and retail handle, including $283.8m in online wagers. The combined handle was down from $315.3m in October but produced $21.9m in gross revenue.

FanDuel was second with $216.2m in online and retail wagers, including $214.4m in online wagering. The combined handle was down from $236.7m in October, producing a market-best $30.2m in gross revenue.