Football season brings out the sports bettor in all of us, and Illinois sports bettors wagered 831.8 million dollars during September. The number was up from the $596 million wagered in September 2021.
The adjusted gross revenue made by the operators was $78.4 million for a solid 8.7% hold rate. That left Illinois third behind New Jersey (98 million) and New York (over 145 million) as the top three operators in the country.
ILBetting.com is predicting October will see a record 1 billion handle, and it will be interesting to see if they reach that number.
In other news.
Illinois Exceeds a Billion Dollars in Lifetime Sports Betting Earnings
Illinois is about to catch Pennsylvania in terms of lifetime sports betting earnings. The Praire State has a lifetime sports betting revenue of $1,207,751,921, leaving them only behind Pennsylvania, Nevada, and New Jersey.
Lifetime sports betting revenue ranking:
- New Jersey — $2,123,552,899
- Nevada — $1,530,219,000
- Pennsylvania — $1,284,279,656
- Illinois — $1,207,751,921
- New York — $969,865,779
Lifetime sports betting handle:
- New Jersey — $30,497,583,224
- Nevada — $26,730,516,808
- Pennsylvania — $16,550,951,863
- Illinois — $15,567,870,563
- New York — $11,899,955,063
Ballys Buys Chicago Tribune Printing Plant
Bally’s is expected to purchase the Chicago Tribune Printing Plant from Nexstar Media Group for 200 million. Bally’s plans to renovate the property into the largest casino in Illinois, with a potential for 200 million in annual tax revenue.
Some of the amenities include;
- 500-room hotel
- 3,000-seat theater
- 3,400 slot machines
- 170 table games
- Outdoor music venue
- Six restaurants
The tentative opening is 2026, making this property the largest of the 15 Bally’s casinos worldwide.
Circa Sports Expanding to Illinois
Las Vegas-based Circa Sports is setting its sights on the state of Illinois, and sports bettors are overwhelmed at the prospect. Circa is known to cater to all bettors with some of the best betting limits in the country.
Circa hopes to open its online and mobile presence in late December 2022 and will operate in partnership with Full House Resorts. They’ll be operating
temporarily at “The Temporary by American Place” before moving into their new property, “The American Place,” in 2023.
