Illinois

Illinois Sportsbooks Collect Nearly $100 Million In March Revenue

Published

2 years ago

May 16, 2024

Illinois Sportsbooks Collect Nearly 0 Million In March Revenue

The Illinois Gaming Board reported $99.4 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for March on Wednesday afternoon, as sportsbooks narrowly missed a nine-figure haul for the fifth time in state history.

Revenue was up only 2.3% compared to last March despite a 17.9% surge in traditional handle to $1.26 billion. The 7.9% hold this year was 1.2 percentage points lower, leaving operator winnings $580,000 shy of $100 million.

March’s handle was the fourth-highest in 47 months of wagering in the Land of Lincoln and came within $21.7 million of January’s total for third. The $3.62 billion in accepted bets for the first quarter of 2024 is up 20% from last year.

The state received $14.9 million in tax revenue, and the $47.7 million collected in the opening three months of 2024 is $8.5 million ahead of last year’s pace, as year-to-date revenue is up 21.6% from 2023.

Operator taxes are a point of discussion in Illinois after Gov. JB Pritzker called to more than double the rate to 35% in February for the upcoming fiscal year that starts July 1.

Had that rate been in effect for the first three months of 2024, the state would have received $111.4 million — an increase of $63.6 million. Pritzker’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget estimates an additional $200 million in tax revenue with the 35% rate in place.

Cook County received close to $1.1 million in tax revenue from a 2% levy placed on the $54.7 million in adjusted gross revenue generated within its borders, which includes Chicago.

The city itself collected $910 in taxes from its 2% levy placed on the $45,500 in revenue generated at the DraftKings at Wrigley Field, which began taking wagers in March.

Plenty of March Madness action

Running March #SportsBetting handle by state:
1 New York $1.85B
2 New Jersey $1.33B
3 ILLINOIS $1.26B
4 Ohio $809.3M
5 Penn. $800.7M
6 Nevada $785.3M
7 N.C. $659.3M
8 Mass. $654.9M
9 Virginia $635.6M
10 Colorado $593.1M#SportsBettingX #GamblingX
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) May 15, 2024

The Illinois Gaming Board does not break out handle between NBA and college basketball, but total wagering on the sport totaled $633.7 million for March — an all-time monthly high and an increase of 23.4% from last year.

It did note that total wagering on college sports for the month, which would be overwhelmingly on basketball given the time of year, totaled $394.8 million. In-person college wagering totaled $16.2 million.

Operators claimed $26 million in revenue from all basketball bets placed, good for a 4.1% hold. That was the largest single source of revenue from a specific sport, while winnings from parlays and same-game parlays accounted for more than half the overall amount at $56.8 million. Illinois bettors wagered $349.7 million on multi-leg bets, resulting in a 16.2% win rate for the house.

Tennis was a distant second when it came to operator revenue at $5.1 million, as the house had a 6.6% hold on $76.6 million in handle. Soccer was the only other sport to produce more than $3 million in revenue, clearing that mark by $88,000 as handle totaled $43.7 million.

FanDuel tops in revenue; DraftKings leads in handle

Betting via the state’s eight sports betting apps accounted for 97% of the total handle at $1.23 billion.

FanDuel took top honors for revenue with $41.4 million, fashioning a 9.5% hold from $433.8 million in completed events handle. The $435.3 million in traditional handle was within $1.3 million of its all-time high set last December.

DraftKings also narrowly missed its top mark for wagers at $461.5 million, $2.4 million shy of its best total. It collected $32.8 million in winnings — the fourth consecutive month over $30 million — while attaining a 7.1% win rate.

BetRivers joined FanDuel as the only mobile book to top an 8% hold, landing at 8.1% in collecting $6.5 million in revenue from $79.8 million worth of bets placed.

The fourth through seventh spots for handle were separated by $9.7 million, with ESPN BET the best of the bunch at $62.7 million, followed by Caesars ($61.9 million), BetMGM ($60.4 million), and Fanatics Sportsbook ($52.3 million).

ESPN BET also took the No. 4 spot for revenue with $4.7 million, while Caesars rounded out the top five with just over $4 million. Fanatics pipped BetMGM for sixth by $419,000. Circa Sports set a record for revenue with $324,200 while posting an eight-digit handle for just the second time since launch with $11 million worth of wagers.

DraftKings at Wrigley draws college hoops fans

Bettors who had been waiting nearly a year to place bets at the DraftKings location adjacent to iconic Wrigley Field put a notable chunk of their action on basketball wagers, with almost $494,100 — nearly 70% of the total completed events handle — bet on pro and college basketball. That percentage eclipsed 90% when including the $151,400 in parlays.

Perhaps more impressively was that bettors came out nearly $14,000 ahead on their parlay bets in contrast to the 8.1% hold on basketball that netted DraftKings $40,100 in revenue.

DraftKings’ other retail sportsbook on the other side of the state — at Casino Queen near the Missouri border — enjoyed a solid March with $563,900 in winnings while crafting a 7.2% hold.

Rivers Casino paced all brick-and-mortar venues with $875,200 in revenue thanks to a 7.4% win rate from $11.8 million worth of bets. Argosy Casino in Alton grossed $592,700 in revenue while notching a 15.7% hold, with $397,300 eligible to be taxed.

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Illinois

Andretti family’s popular go karting and gaming facility opening first Illinois location. See inside

Published

3 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Andretti family’s popular go karting and gaming facility opening first Illinois location. See inside

A popular indoor go karting and gaming company is opening up its first Illinois location in a Chicago suburb this week.

Andretti Indoor Karting & Games announced it will open its doors on a brand new Schaumburg location at 4 p.m. on March 10, with a grand opening event slated for March 14.

The facility will feature numerous attractions, including “high-speed electric Superkarts on a multi-level track” and an arcade with professional racing simulators and two-story laser tag arena, in a 98,000-square-foot facility. There’s also bowling, a movie theater and more, the company said.

The Schaumburg location, at 1441 Thoreau Dr., will mark Andretti’s 13th facility in the U.S.

“We’re thrilled to open our thirteenth location in the thriving village of Schaumburg,” said Eddie Hamman, managing member. “Andretti is the perfect addition to all the amazing experiences across Chicagoland, and we look forward to meeting the communities that make this market a top destination.”

The company said it plans to host a “sneak preview” event beginning at 11 a.m. on March 10, where several guests will “be treated to free racing, attractions, and arcade play with food and beverage options available for purchase.” The Andretti family will also be on-hand for autograph sessions that afternoon.

A limited number of spots will be made available to RSVP to the preview.

Then on March 14, the first 100 guests to visit the facility to be given one hour of free arcade play and entered to win a raffle for a free birthday party. Ten guests could also win free arcade play for a year.

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Illinois

New building owner addresses backlash over mural in downtown Springfield

Published

15 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

New building owner addresses backlash over mural in downtown Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – A long-standing mural honoring Robert E. Smith on the side of a building at Campbell and Walnut has been covered up, prompting community backlash against the building’s new owner.

David Pere, owner of FMTM LLC, purchased the building in downtown Springfield and said he intended it to reflect his business, which focuses on helping veterans with financial strategies and goals. Covering the mural was part of that plan.

Pere said he was out of town in Tennessee when painting began and learned about the community reaction through messages on his phone.

“I’m like, I was in Tennessee running an event. I didn’t even know he’d started painting until I got a bunch of really nasty messages on my phone,” Pere said. “And I go, oh, look, that’s our building getting painted. I guess he started.”

Pere said he did not anticipate the response. “You know, we didn’t. I didn’t know how much of an impact this was going to make,” he said.

Jesse Tyler, co-owner of SGFCO, said he wanted the mural to stay and expressed concern about the lack of safeguards for publicly recognized works of art.

“To paint over that is to say, like, could be interpreted as saying that his work is no longer relevant or that his story is no longer relevant. I don’t think that’s true,” Tyler said. “Robert’s artwork needs to be part of downtown for as long as we can maintain that memory and maintain that legacy.”

Tyler said the community had hoped protections would be in place for the mural. “Maybe we didn’t have those protections that we hope there would be, that maybe the sort of legacy and awareness of Robert’s work that we hope there would be wasn’t there,” he said.

The City of Springfield posted online, acknowledging the artwork held deep meaning for many residents. Because the building is privately owned, however, Pere is within his rights to make changes to its exterior.

Pere said he hopes to help relocate the mural to a more permanent location. “We want to help migrate that mural to a wall where it could be more permanent,” he said. “I’d love to help them find a space for it. I’d love to help. I’d love to see the city get involved to the point where that space could be a permanent space where it’s actually maintained because it is obvious now that it is very important to the city of Springfield.”

Pere is already working with an artist on a new mural for the side of the building, intended to represent veterans. That mural is expected to begin going up at the end of the month.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.

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Illinois

Missed the lunar eclipse? See when the next one will be over Illinois

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Missed the lunar eclipse? See when the next one will be over Illinois

Millions across the United States who woke up early Tuesday were treated to a “blood moon,” the only total lunar eclipse occurring in North America in 2026, according to NASA.

Illinois residents who missed it will be waiting some time for the next total lunar eclipse to shine above the U.S. — several years, in fact. But a partial lunar eclipse is coming sooner.

When is the next total lunar eclipse in Illinois?

After March 3, Illinois’ next visible total lunar eclipse won’t happen again until June 2029, writes Time and Date. There is a partial lunar eclipse coming sooner, however.

Others are reading: Free Full Moon Queso at Qdoba. How to get in Illinois

When is the next lunar eclipse?

A partial lunar eclipse will be visible in Illinois on Aug. 27-28, shining over the Americas, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia, according to NASA.

Provided you’re willing to stay up late to see it, the partial lunar eclipse will be at its maximum around 11:12 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 27, in Illinois.

Until then, here’s what people in parts of the U.S. were seeing Tuesday morning.

See photos of the March 3 total lunar eclipse

Calendar of upcoming eclipses

When is the next solar eclipse?

The next solar eclipse will be visible to roughly 980 million people on Aug. 12, 2026, writes Time and Date.

A total solar eclipse will occur over Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small area of Portugal, while a partial eclipse will be visible in Europe, Africa, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, NASA reports.