The Illinois Gaming Board reported Tuesday that the state’s sportsbooks had traditional sports wagering handle of nearly $1.08 billion in September, an all-time high that also contributed to a national record monthly handle of more than $11.5 billion.
It was the sixth time Illinois sportsbooks accepted more than $1 billion in wagers in a month, all coming in the last 12 months. September’s handle was about $5.7 million higher than the previous best of $1.07 billion established in March.
Handle was up nearly 30% from the previous September and close to 60% more than in August. The year-to-date handle of $7.8 billion is 16.6% higher compared to the first three quarters of 2022. With only Kentucky yet to publish its figures from its September launch, Illinois will finish third behind New York and New Jersey in handle for the second consecutive month after being runner-up to the Empire State from February through July.
Sportsbooks claimed more than $86.2 million in adjusted gross revenue from a hold just shy of 8%. The significant bump in handle helped revenue climb almost 10% from September 2022, which had a hold above 9.4%. The year-to-date win rate of nearly 8.9%, combined with the notable rise in handle, has sent year-to-date revenue surging 34.1% higher than last year to $688.4 million.