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.

The Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would provide student teachers $10,000 stipends per semester for up to two consecutive semesters.

The bill, H.B. 4652, passed 85 to 23 and is currently subject to appropriation, meaning it will not be implemented until the underlying costs are funded.

Under H.B. 4652, educators eligible to receive stipends must be registered as student teachers by July 1 of each year beginning in 2025. If passed by the state Senate, the bill will also provide $2,000 stipends to licensed teachers who advise student teachers.

State Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) sponsored the bill. 

“It’s a pretty much unpaid internship, and they put a lot of hours into this program to receive nothing,” Hernandez said during the House debate on the bill Tuesday.

State Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Louisville), an opponent of the bill, argued that it’s not the government’s responsibility to fund stipends.

During Tuesday’s House debate, Wilhour said teachers’ unions should fund such programs. 

“Teachers’ unions specifically have plenty of money that they’re more than happy to throw around in political races,” Wilhour said.

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