Illinois Sees Ninth Month of $1 Billion Sports Betting Wagers

Historically, Illinois has been a successful hub for sports betting and as various leagues approach their seasons, there is even more demand from consumers. This demand, naturally, generates a good chunk of profit for sports betting operators in the state, who have seen an especially profitable year.

Case in point, the Illinois Gaming Board has released the sports betting figures for May 2024 and needless to say, it was a good month. The eight licensed sportsbooks in the state brought in a combined $1.02 billion in wagers, marking the ninth month of sports betting revenue remaining above a billion dollars.

The State of the Operators

In the latest report, the Gaming Board broke down the revenue according to the various operators in the state. FanDuel saw $30.1 million in revenue, followed by DraftKings with $29.8 million, and Betrivers with $3.1 million. While these figures are impressive, it has been noted that the incoming sports betting tax rate could see some of these operators pay two times the amount of taxes they do currently.

At the same time, sports betting operators around the country could also attract new revenue thanks to enthusiasm from the crypto community.

Crypto In the Sports Betting World

It is no secret that cryptocurrency has become much more mainstream than it was several years ago. Along with being more well-known and financially viable, there has also been more exploration of its use cases, one of which is betting. The use of crypto for betting often means a chance for consumers to profit in multiple ways and this has proven popular.

In fact, as Alexander Reed explains, there are top Bitcoins sports betting sites that exist solely to cater to this growing demographic of crypto users who want to bet. There are a number of sports betting operators in the United States that allow for wagers to be placed in crypto and there is no telling how much high revenue figures would be if this market was fully tapped into in Illinois.

Then there is the appeal of privacy. Not every consumer wants to hand over their sensitive details to their sports betting operator but this is often the legal requirement. Those who bet with crypto sometimes opt for crypto betting sites to bypass this, though this seems to come with its own unique challenges.

Illinois Vs the USA

The current figures already indicate that Illinois is doing well in terms of sports betting revenue, but how does it stack up to the rest of the country? For the month of May, Illinois is second in the country, with New York taking the top spot. The Big Apple brought in a staggering $1.98 billion in wagers for the same period of time.

This is consistent with previous reports which show that the taxes from sports betting are becoming a major source of revenue in many states. Despite this, sports betting remains fairly controversial, with Georgia recently failing to pass legislation that will make it legal. So, for now, this revenue is going to states like Illinois and New York that have already legalized it.

Still, a trend being observed these days is tax rates for sports betting being increased across the country. We’ve discussed Illinois taking the tax rate up to between 20% and 40% but New Jersey could be seeing taxes on sports betting operators go up to 30%. This has led some industry experts to speculate on whether the cost will be pushed to the consumers or if operators will move their enterprise elsewhere.

Conclusion

Illinois is on a roll when it comes to sports betting wagers, securing a ninth month of over a billion dollars. While this is exciting, it does bring into question how sports betting operators will fare when new tax codes come into effect and if the state will retain its position as others go through sports betting-related development of their own.

What we do know from this is that interest in sports betting is well and alive and whether consumers are using traditional fiat currencies or making the switch to cryptocurrency, sports betting operators will continue to report healthy returns.