The Illinois Gaming Board reported'$60.4 million in adjusted gross revenue for sports wagering in July, making Illinois the third state in the post-PASPA era to surpass $2 billion.
Illinois joins New Jersey and New York in the select circle, having accomplished the feat in 39 months of regulated wagering. That does not include two months in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic prior to launching mobile sportsbooks in June of that year. Perhaps more impressively – or unimpressively for the betting public – Illinois reached that $2 billion mark a mere 12 monthsafter getting to $1 billion in July 2022.
Traditional handle for July totaled $611.4 million, an 18.4% improvement over July 2022 as Illinois all but secured the No. 2 spot nationally for the sixth straight month. The state also surpassed $6 billion in accepted wagers for the calendar year, joining New York as the only states to do that in the first seven months of 2023.
The statewide hold was 9.9%. While that ranked seventh in state history, it ranks 21st out of 27 states to publish July figures. Arizona is the lone state yet to report for the month, but it is a near certainty the monthly national hold on gross revenue will surpass 10% for the second time in three months and the seventh time in 62 months of post-PASPA betting.