Sports betting in Illinois begins the year with a lull

(The Center Square) – Sports betting in Illinois in January dipped a bit from the month earlier.

According to the Illinois Gaming Board, the total sports betting handle in January was down just over 2% compared to December, but sportsbooks and state coffers were up with over 5% increases across the board for revenue and taxes.

Even though numbers were slightly down, Illinois sports betting totaled nearly $1.3 billion and trailed only New York and New Jersey. Illinois filled its coffers with nearly $20.3 million in tax revenue while Cook County received $1.36 million.

Lou Monaco, analyst with IllinoisBet.com, said after the college basketball championship this weekend, not much action will be going on for several months.

“The Masters starts that following Thursday and right after that you’re going to start to see a little bit of a decline across the next several months because you’re not going to have a lot of sporting events going on that are going to be big for bettors,” Monaco said.

- Advertisement -

Monaco thinks February and March numbers will be much improved because of college basketball and the biggest sporting event of the year.

“The market will undoubtedly see an increase in February, which continues to be a strong performing month for sportsbooks, with a fully loaded sports calendar for bettors along with the biggest betting day of the year, the Super Bowl,” said Monaco.

FanDuel was the most profitable sports betting app with nearly $60 million in winnings. DraftKings was second, followed by ESPN Bet, which was a distant third.

Monaco said a proposal to raise the gambling tax in Illinois from 15% to 35% could make a small impact, but it could be worse.

“New York and New Hampshire have the highest tax rates in the nation at 51%, and New York is the number one betting state in the country,” said Monaco.

spot_img
spot_img

Hot this week

African and Caribbean Nations Call for Reparations for Slave Trade, Propose Global Fund

Nations across Africa and the Caribbean, deeply impacted by...

Sports betting expert offers advice on paying taxes for gambling winnings

(The Center Square) – Tax season is underway, and...

Health care company agrees to pay $22.5 million to settle claims of over billing

A health care company agreed to pay nearly $22.5...

Entertainment district benefits don’t outweigh the cost, economists say

(The Center Square) — Weeks later, after more details...

Business association ‘disappointed’ by WA L&I’s proposed workers comp rate hike

(The Center Square) – The Association of Washington Business...

WATCH: IL family fighting state to keep child with disabilities closer to home

(The Center Square) – A southern Illinois family is...

55,000 LA County employees go on strike as county cuts spending, avoids layoffs

(The Center Square) - Fifty-five thousand Los Angeles County...

WATCH: Illinois In Focus Daily | Tuesday April 29th, 2025

(The Center Square) – In today's edition of Illinois...

‘Main Street, not Wall Street’: Trump defends tariffs, touts immigration success

President Donald Trump delivered remarks at a rally in...

1,786 Wisconsin deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease in 2024

(The Center Square) – There were 1,786 deer that...

Report: WA wealth tax would not cause ‘mass exodus of millionaires’

(The Center Square) – A novel tax proposal out...

Louisa County Board of Supervisors approve $187.6M budget

(The Center Square) – Louisa County, Va. supervisors unanimously...

More like this
Related

WATCH: IL family fighting state to keep child with disabilities closer to home

(The Center Square) – A southern Illinois family is...

55,000 LA County employees go on strike as county cuts spending, avoids layoffs

(The Center Square) - Fifty-five thousand Los Angeles County...

WATCH: Illinois In Focus Daily | Tuesday April 29th, 2025

(The Center Square) – In today's edition of Illinois...