Illinois
Illinois Pips NJ For No. 2 Sports Wagering Handle In August
The Illinois Gaming Board reported conventional sports activities wagering deal with totaling $564.8 million for August, pushing Illinois forward of New Jersey for the No. 2 spot nationally for the month.
Solely Arizona has but to launch deal with and income for August, nevertheless it has by no means topped Illinois in deal with since launching in September 2021. That makes the Land of Lincoln — house to Chicago and well-liked for placing giardiniera on its sizzling canines — a near-lock to complete between New York and the Backyard State.
Illinois generated greater than $1.9 billion deal with from Could to July, simply $22 million lower than New Jersey in that span because it completed lower than $2 million off the tempo in Could and fewer than $5 million off in June. If Illinois finishes forward of Arizona as anticipated, it will mark the primary time Illinois was No. 2 for deal with since Could 2021, when it edged out Nevada to complete behind New Jersey.
At the moment, the Empire State was nonetheless working to determine its cell plans. New York launched on-line wagering in January and has been atop the nationwide rankings your complete yr.
Illinois deal with was up 9.4% in comparison with July’s $516.4 million and 41.1% increased versus the $400.4 million wagered in August 2021. As for income, the $47.8 million claimed by the home in August 2022 was 3.7% higher than July and 78% greater than final yr.
The state’s 8.5% win fee, whereas notably above the business commonplace of seven%, ranks third worst among the many 25 states to publish figures for August, forward of solely Louisiana (7.6%) and Nevada (3.9%). Illinois was one in all solely seven states to publish an August win fee under 10%.
The state reaped near $7.2 million in tax receipts, whereas Cook dinner County netted $526,206 from its 2% levy on all operator income positioned on wagers positioned inside county limits — which incorporates Chicago. Illinois has collected $65.3 million in sports activities wagering tax income for the calendar yr, $17.3 million forward of the primary eight months of 2021. The $4.7 million in Cook dinner County’s coffers by August is sort of $1 million forward of final yr’s tempo.
FanDuel once more on the double
Parlays have been the important thing differentiator for FanDuel because it holds sway because the nation’s prime cell choice, and Illinois was no totally different in August. FanDuel posted a strong 10.5% maintain on $176.7 million in accomplished occasions deal with, netting greater than $18.6 million in adjusted income. Greater than half that complete got here by way of parlay winnings, with the $11.2 million marking its sixth straight month reaching eight figures.
The 20.3% maintain was really under FanDuel’s 21% maintain for the yr on parlays in Illinois and second-best to PointsBet (21.4%) among the many state’s seven on-line operators for August within the class. FanDuel has generated $119 million in parlay income this yr alone in Illinois. As some extent of comparability, the general sports activities wagering income in Iowa is $119.9 million for the primary 9 months of 2022.
DraftKings was a snug second in each classes with a accomplished occasions deal with of $158.9 million and $11.7 million in income for a 7.9% win fee. It additionally had a robust August when it got here to parlays, reaping $6.9 million in income from $32.8 million deal with for a 17.4% maintain.
BetRivers rounded out the highest three in each accomplished occasions deal with ($60.6 million) and income ($5.2 million). BetMGM‘s entrance into the state in March has made the jockeying for fourth by seventh in deal with extra pronounced. The newest debutant completed fifth at $33.8 million, slotting behind PointsBet’s $37.6 million.
Caesars Sportsbook, which completed roughly $450,000 forward of Barstool Sportsbook for sixth in conventional deal with, narrowly missed doing likewise for accomplished deal with as its $27.9 million was slightly below Barstool’s $28.5 million determine.
PointsBet cleared a ten% maintain for the second consecutive month, reaching 10.3% whereas netting $3.9 million in income. BetMGM topped $2 million for the fifth time in six months of experiences with $2.4 million, whereas Barstool fended off Caesars for sixth in income by $22,154 because it claimed near $1.8 million in operator winnings.
Parlays and baseball function income drivers
The general parlay win fee on accomplished occasions deal with was an eye-watering 22.9% as operators stored $24.9 million of the $133.7 million wagered. All seven cell operators had a maintain of 10.1% or higher, with BetRivers (20.1%) becoming a member of PointsBet and FanDuel amongst these above 20%.
PointsBet completed simply shy of $2.4 million in parlay income whereas Barstool netted $1.1 million on such bets. Australian-based PointsBet, nonetheless, could battle to match its complete in September contemplating it paid out practically $3 million to Marco Piemonte after he hit a six-leg wager.
Baseball was the opposite huge moneymaker for the books, although the $10.8 million retained from $196 million deal with resulted in a extra modest 5.8% win fee. Tennis once more claimed the No. 3 spots for deal with and income at $91.8 million and $5.8 million, respectively. FanDuel was a main driver of deal with right here as nicely, accepting an all-time excessive of $33.9 million in tennis wagers.
The beginning of worldwide membership soccer additionally supplied a lift to deal with numbers, with $45.9 million in accomplished deal with producing $2.6 million in income. The catch-all “different” class netted nearly the very same quantity of income on $28.5 million deal with for a 9.9% maintain.
And on the retail facet …
Although Rivers On line casino stays the deal with bellcow for brick-and-mortar sportsbooks within the Land of Lincoln, bettors held the Des Plaines location to a state-low 5.5% win fee. The $693,281 in income from $12.6 million in accomplished occasions deal with was nonetheless sufficient to be tops in Illinois, however Argosy On line casino in Alton was a a lot nearer second in income at $544,285 due to a 18.3% maintain.
DraftKings at CasinoQueen was third at $462,574 with a 15.2% win fee, whereas Hollywood On line casino in Aurora — Barstool’s tether — was the one different venue to complete above $200,000. The general retail win fee was slightly below 10.2% because the state’s 11 complete venues, when together with Hawthorne Race Course’s two OTB areas, generated $23.9 million in accomplished occasions deal with and greater than $2.4 million in income.
Illinois
Some Illinois taxpayers will be able to file 2024 taxes for free with IRS program
Nearly 2 million eligible Illinois residents will be able to file their 2024 federal tax returns for free using a new IRS program.
State officials announced that Illinois will participate in the IRS Direct File service which begins on Jan. 27.
Direct File was first launched as a test program last year. This year, the program will become a permanent option with participation in 25 states.
A simplified process
The IRS estimates that more than 30 million people will be eligible to use the program during the 2025 tax filing season.
State officials said the IRS Direct File option will simplify the filing process for eligible taxpayers.
“We understand that a significant amount of time and money is spent every year to ensure personal income tax returns are filed accurately and on time,” said David Harris, the director of the Illinois Department of Revenue, in a statement. “This integration will help relieve stress and financial burden for taxpayers.”
Direct File is an online service that’s available on mobile phones, laptops, tablets or desktop computers.
The service provides a checklist and a guide to help navigate the process. Users will have access to a chatbot for guidance in both English and Spanish.
For more information on eligibility and how to use the service, visit irs.gov/filing/irs-direct-file-for-free.
Illinois
Illinois State Police trooper hurt in multi-vehicle crash near Chicago
(25News Now) – An Illinois State Police trooper was hurt in a five-vehicle crash Saturday morning in the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, but there are conflicting reports about the severity of the trooper’s injuries.
State Police said the trooper was heading to an accident scene to help with traffic control at Illinois Route 59 and Higgins Road. Police said the trooper activated his emergency lights and sirens, but was struck by another vehicle at the intersection about 9:45 a.m.
The trooper suffered critical injuries, according to a release from the East Dundee and Countryside Fire Protection District, but State Police said the trooper’s injuries were not life-threatening.
The fire department said it took almost a half-hour to extricate the trooper from his heavily damaged vehicle.
Authorities said two people from other vehicles were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
State Police are investigating.
Saturday’s accident happened less than a month after State Police Trooper Clay Carns was killed in a crash on I-55 in Will County.
The 35-year-old officer left his squad car to pick up debris from the roadway when he was struck by a passing pickup truck two days before Christmas. The truck’s 69-year-old driver was cited for not moving over to avoid hitting Trooper Carns.
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Illinois
Local college hoops roundup: No. 13 Illinois falls to USC at home
Desmond Claude scored a season-high 31 points to lead USC to an 82-72 win over No. 13 Illinois on Saturday in Champaign.
Wesley Yates III had 15 points — shooting 7 of 8 from the field — while Rashaun Agee had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Trojans (10-6, 2-3 Big Ten).
Illinois (12-4, 4-2) had a five-game winning streak snapped. Ben Humrichous had 15 points, while Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Tre White each scored 11.
Kasparas Jakucionis, the Illini’s leading scorer, missed his second straight game because of a forearm injury suffered Jan. 5 against Washington.
Takeaways
Illinois: The Illini have gotten off to a slow start in each game without Jakucionis. They trailed Penn State by six points early Wednesday before winning 91-52. They were down by nine points early to USC and never did get their offense going without their scoring and assist leader. They were 7 of 32 on 3-pointers.
USC: The Trojans didn’t get to the free-throw line very often. They were 9 of 11 on foul shots to Illinois’ 19 of 21. But they shot 52% to Illinois’ 37% and outrebounded the Illini 37-34. Illinois came into the game averaging 45.9 rebounds per game, best in the nation.
Key moment
The game was tied at 57 with 8:46 left. USC went on a 13-3 run to move in front 70-60 with 5:12 to go and Illinois didn’t threaten after that.
Key stat
Claude shot 12 for 20 from the field and made all seven of his free throws. Agee also was a shooting star. The graduate student sank three triples after making two all season and six in his career.
Up next
Southern California hosts Iowa on Tuesday night.
Illinois visits Indiana on Tuesday night.
Saint Joseph’s 93, Loyola 57
Xzayvier Brown scored 20 points as Saint Joseph’s rolled to a 93-57 victory over Loyola on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Brown went 8 of 16 from the field (3 for 6 from 3-point range) for the Hawks (11-6, 3-2 Atlantic 10 Conference). Derek Simpson added 19 points and six rebounds. Erik Reynolds II hit four 3-pointers and scored 18.
The Ramblers (10-6, 1-2) were led by Sheldon Edwards with 12 points. Jayden Dawson added 12 points and Miles Rubin scored 10.
Saint Joseph’s took the lead with 19:12 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. Reynolds led the team in scoring with 15 points in the first half to help put them up 53-29 at the break.
Bradley 61, UIC 60
Zek Montgomery led Bradley with 15 points and Duke Deen scored the game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds remaining as the Braves knocked off host UIC 61-60 on Saturday.
Montgomery shot 5 for 10 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 5 from the free-throw line for the Braves (14-3, 5-1 Missouri Valley Conference). Deen scored 14 points and added three steals. Corey Thomas shot 2 of 2 from the field and 7 for 7 from the line to finish with 11 points.
Jordan Mason led the way for the Flames (11-6, 3-3) with 15 points and two steals. Ahmad Henderson II added 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals for UIC. Sasa Ciani also recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Both teams next play Wednesday. Bradley hosts Indiana State and UICsquares off against Murray State at home.
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