Illinois Sports Betting Revenue, Handle and Taxes

Illinois Sports Betting Revenue

Illinois sports betting officially launched in March 2020. This only included retail sports betting, which is why the Illinois sports betting revenue generated the bare minimum for the first couple of months due to the pandemic. In March of 2020, Illinois sports betting revenue was $120,000, while April of 2020 showed a loss of $592 and May of 2020 produced a revenue of $0. Mobile sports betting in Illinois launched in June of 2020, but revenue still was under 1 million dollars. It was not until October of 2020 where we saw Illinois sports betting revenue jump to $46 million. For the next year, Illinois sports betting revenue ranged between $25 million and $49 million.

November of 2021 provided another jump in revenue, this time to $78 million. Immediately after that, the revenue heavily decreased to round out the year. The year 2022 was also solid for Illinois sports betting revenue. They had a revenue of at least $50 million or more in 9 of the 12 months, the highest being $96.9 million in November of 2022. So far in 2023, it has been more of the same as Illinois sports betting revenue has surpassed $60 million in each month up to April of 2023. Projections are that revenue will continue to rise for the remainder of 2023, especially with football season just around the corner. 

Illinois Sports Betting Taxes

The Illinois sports betting tax rate is a fixed 4.95% for State and 15% for Federal. With the Federal tax rate, this applies to bettors that make over $600 when sports betting in Illinois. For the State tax rate, this applies no matter the amount that you win when sports betting in Illinois.

To report your Illinois sports betting taxes, you will need a W-2G form. This is typically provided by the sportsbook where you won your money. In the event that you have won money from multiple companies, you will receive W-2G forms for each one.

Finally, you will need to transfer the numbers from all the W-2G forms you receive to the “Other Income” box on the 1040 Form.

The Illinois sports betting taxes you are required to pay go towards plenty of necessary services, such as infrastructure and education.  

Illinois Sports Betting Handle

Handle is basically the amount of money bet in a particular state over a set period of time. In this case, the state of Illinois. Illinois sports betting handle did not really take off until September of 2020, where it reached $305 million. Since that time, Illinois sports betting handle has been increasing almost every month. They have not dipped below $305 million in handle again, and had a $1 billion handle as recently as October of 2022. From October of 2022 to April of 2023, Illinois sports betting handle had gone $1 billion in handle in 5 out of the 7 months. As football starts to gear up, Illinois sports betting handle is expected to increase, well over the $1 billion mark. 

Illinois Sports Betting Handle Per Capita

Handle per capita is simply the average amount that each person in the state bets over a given time period. Illinois’ handle per capita started at essentially nothing because of the fact that they opened retail sportsbooks right when the pandemic started to hit. Even when mobile sports betting became legal in June of 2020, Illinois handle per capita remained low. It was not until September of 2020 when we saw a small increase in handle per capita, though the jump was only to $35. By October of 2020, handle per capita jumped again to $50 and this is where we started to see an increase nearly every month. By March of 2021, handle per capita reached $73 (likely thanks to March Madness).

The following months saw a few decreases in handle per capita due to less sports being played, but by the Fall, handle per capita had reached $97 in October of 2021. To begin 2022, handle per capita rose to $100. Once again, the same trend continued, as we saw fluctuating numbers throughout the first half of the year. By October of 2022, handle per capita had reached $119 and has surpassed $100 in each month since as recent as April of 2023.

Illinois’ handle per capita does not compare to Nevada, who see numbers as high as $779. That being said, Illinois’ handle per capita still has competitive numbers with states like New York, who is always one of the top states for handle and revenue. 

Illinois Sports Betting Hold

Sports betting hold refers to the percentage of money that sportsbooks retain from a given bet. This will vary based on the market and the type of bet made. With the average hold per month at 7.25%, Illinois sports betting is doing well, having averaged a 8.1% hold since launching in March of 2020.