Illinois Narrowly Falls Short of Second Place in June's National Sports Betting Bet Action
Down to the Wire: Illinois and New Jersey Battle for Second Place in Sports Betting Handle
Balmy Illinois narrowly missed snatching the second spot from New Jersey in the nation-wide sports wagering handle race for June, with a mere $4.7 million difference [1][2]. While New York flaunts the top spot, Illinois' steady growth is poised to threaten New Jersey's supremacy [1].
The sports wagering handle for June in Illinois stood at a robust $628.5 million, marking the second month in a row the state has been in a fierce contest with New Jersey for the coveted position [1]. Although the gap was larger in June compared to May, Illinois' handle of $628.5 million still outpaced Nevada's by an impressive $370 million, securing a comfortable lead [1].
Illinois' booming sports betting market generated a staggering $4.8 billion handle in the first half of 2022 and close to $13.7 billion since March 2020, the month it welcomed its inaugural wagers [1]. Operator revenue fell short in June, plummeting by 39.4% in comparison to May, amounting to $40.9 million [1]. Handle dipped 17.8% compared to May but still registered a respectable 70.3% year-on-year increase [1].
The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) collected $6.1 million in taxes in June, taking the annual total to over $51 million [1]. Cook County, which includes the city of Chicago, pocketed $449,960 in revenue from a hefty $22.3 million in gaming revenue [1].
Navigating the Competitive Landscape
FanDuel and DraftKings continued their dominance in mobile betting, collectively holding $384.9 million between them, equating to about 65% of the overall wagers placed online or via smartphone [1]. BetRivers, while falling behind PointsBet, managed to hold off competition to claim third spot [1].
Struggling to keep pace with its competitors, BetRivers' $60.9 million handle represented its smallest since July 2021 [1]. The platform's parlay offerings may not be marketed as aggressively, potentially contributing to its poor performance in the parlay category [1]. But even with relatively modest parlay handle at $3.87 million, it still accounted for a noteworthy 6.3% of BetRivers' overall handle [1].
PointsBet finished just behind BetRivers with a $52.7 million handle, showcasing that it is rapidly gaining traction in the market [1]. In contrast, BetMGM maintained its position in the top five with a robust $37.8 million handle [1].
The parlay handle for June totaled $140.2 million - the second-largest amount reported by the IGB, with the total for the year surpassing $1 billion [1]. FanDuel controlled about half of June's parlay handle, while DraftKings lagged behind with a distant second-place finish [1].
Tennis shone unexpectedly in June, securing a surprising third place in overall handle with an impressive $86.5 million wagered [1]. FanDuel accounted for nearly a third of the total, indicating that much of the betting was conducted via in-play wagering [1]. While the IGB does not break down Tier 2 wagering by sport, FanDuel's overall $103.9 million handle for in-play betting was significantly higher than that of DraftKings [1].
Both FanDuel and PointsBet achieved impressive milestones in June. FanDuel became the second mobile operator to cross the $4 billion threshold, joining DraftKings [1]. PointsBet, meanwhile, surpassed the $1 billion mark, making it the fourth book to do so [1]. BetRivers has already reached this milestone.
Financial Perspectives
FanDuel continued its trend as both the top operator in terms of handle and revenue in Illinois [1]. In June, it recorded $16.6 million in revenue, boasting an 8.2% win rate [1]. In addition, FanDuel fell just short of $11 million in parlay revenue, creating a slight drag on its overall year-to-date hold, which slipped below the 21% mark after posting a 25.6% win rate in April and 29.7% in May [1].
DraftKings ranked second in June's revenue standings with $9 million, posting a 4.9% hold on $183.2 million handle [1]. BetRivers also managed to eclipse the $3 million revenue threshold in June, finishing with $4.8 million, yielding a 7.8% hold [1].
Despite a dismal 1.2% win rate on parlays in June, BetMGM still made a significant improvement compared to its performances in the first three months [1]. With just $84,000 in revenue from parlays, it still represented a major advancement - up from a mere $450 in revenue over the same period [1]. Overall, BetMGM holds a 0.3% win rate on close to $32 million worth of parlay wagers.
By category, parlays generated the highest revenue, amounting to over $20.2 million on a 14.4% hold [1]. Operators claimed nearly $6 million in revenue from baseball wagers, though with a relatively low 2.7% hold [1]. Hockey was the fourth-highest revenue generator, raking in $3.8 million thanks to a 14.3% hold - the best of any month with at least $10 million wagered [1]. Basketball and soccer rounded out the top five revenue spots, with soccer generating $2.2 million, and golf recording $1.4 million [1].
References:[1] https://sportsillustrated.com/[2] https://www.playusa.com/[3] https://www.legalsportsreport.com/[4] https://94wip.cbslocal.com/
- Despite the slight decrease in handle compared to May, the sports-betting market in Illinois continues to spread its influence, with the risk of losing its second place to New Jersey remaining minimal due to a significant line separating the two states.
- In the wake of Illinois' impressive sports-betting handle, operators like FanDuel and DraftKings, known for their dominance in mobile betting, are facing increased competition as platforms like BetRivers and PointsBet also spread their presence.
- The parlay offerings of various sports-betting operators, such as BetRivers and PointsBet, have shown varying results in the market, with FanDuel controlling nearly half of the parlay handle in June, while BetRivers' parlay handle marked its smallest since July 2021.
