Illinois' Stellar October Takes Combined National Handle Past $7 Billion

Illinois recorded a huge spike in sports betting revenue in October, continuing a trend we've seen across the United States.

Dave Bonderoff

Last Updated: December 10, 2021 6:01 AM EST • 4 minute read

Illinois, traditionally the last state to release their monthly reports, is finally out with their October numbers and they revealed a typically huge month-to-month spike in sports betting activity not only in the state but nationally as well.

Buoyed by five full weekends of both NFL and college football along with the start of the NBA and NHL season, and despite Illinois' return to an archaic in-person registration procedure for its mobile scene, Illinois was able to shatter previous handle records, while at the same time taking the National handle over a previously unfathomable $7 billion mark.

"A calendar with an extra weekend of NFL and college football, the opening of the NBA and NHL seasons, and baseball's postseason was always going to bring more action than a quieter month," said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayIllinois.com. "Regardless, a new high highlights the continued strength of Illinois' market, and it should grow even stronger in the coming months."

Illinois Sports Betting Figures

Illinois' retail and online sportsbooks are reporting a staggering $840.4 million October handle. That's up 40.9% from the $596.5 million reported in September and about $207 million more than the previous state record of $633.6 million which was generated in March. Approximately $840.4 million comes in as the eighth highest monthly handle ever for any US jurisdiction.

Illinois, thanks to October's haul became just the third state in the nation to surpass a $7 billion lifetime handle. They officially joined New Jersey and Nevada as states with that distinction.

Gross revenues also climbed but not near the rate of the overall handle. October saw $48.3 million in revenues from legal sports betting activity, an 8.4% increase from the $44.6 million generated in September. But that is about $1.5 million shy of the record $49.9 million in revenues reported in March.

A nice total of $8.5 million in taxes was generated for needy state and local coffers in October. The lifetime tax contributions from the Illinois legal sports betting platform now sit at $80 million since its March 2020 launch. It is at $61.8 million for just this year.

It Could Get Even Better

The state of Illinois has been burdened by the in-person registration requirement for its mobile sports betting apps. Temporary COVID-forced remote registration for online sportsbooks was overturned by Governor Pritzker, and it was thought the overall scene would take a bit of a hit because of it.

But it hasn't. And the state has signaled will eventually return to the far-more desirable mobile registration policy in the future.

"The Illinois sports betting market is thriving in spite of the current online registration rules, so it's exciting to imagine what it will look like when sportsbooks are untethered," said Joe Boozell, lead analyst for PlayIllinois.com. "A surge of new operators will certainly come."

National Numbers

With Illinois on the board, the strength of October's sports betting take nationally has caught some analysts off guard. Not many saw the gravity of the month-to-month spike experienced by the country's sportsbooks, and we haven't even seen the figures out of Arizona.

The total US national handle sat at $6.225 billion, a huge spike from the then-record $5.2 billion reported in September. That was prior to the release of Illinois's October numbers. The Land of Lincoln's $840.4 million took the National handle to an incredible $7.06 billion.

Crystal Ball Time

There won't be many months that boast five full weekends of NFL and college football betting opportunities like October. But, it is hard to fathom much of a slowdown in the industry between now and March. 20 of the 22 states that have reported their October sports betting figures set records for their jurisdictions. Most blew the previous records away and will likely continue to do so.

Illinois has set a new bar for itself — the next milestone is the $1 billion monthly sports betting plateau. Only two states finished ahead of Illinois in terms of sports betting handle in October. Both New Jersey and Nevada surpassed that $1 billion benchmark.

Eyes will be on Illinois to see just when they join the exclusive $1 billion club. It seems inevitable after seeing October's numbers, but likely not until the easing of sign-up rules for mobile and the announcement of more online betting operators in the state beyond the current six.

Written by:
Dave Bonderoff

Dave Bonderoff and betting go hand-in-hand. Both are characterized by "odds". Dave fancies himself as one of the most dedicated sports and pop-culture junkies around, to the chagrin of his family and friends. Following sports for 50 years and writing about it for 20, Dave hasn't found a sport yet that can't contribute to 2-3 straight hours of couch time. That search remains ongoing. As a good old Canadian boy, hockey is in Dave’s heart, as is curling sadly. But evolution is a real thing and that’s why football, baseball, and just about every sport on the planet has become a passion. Dave isn’t afraid to kill some time obsessing over politics or the far-too-frequent awards shows the consume the airwaves.