Illinois reports US$1.5 billion sports betting handle for November 2024
The Illinois Gaming Board has released its November 2024 online sports wagering report, showing US$1.49 billion in total handle, an 11% increase compared to November 2023’s $1.34 billion. This is one of the largest monthly totals in Illinois’ nearly five-year history of online sports betting.
The total handle includes professional sports, college sports, motor racing, and miscellaneous events involving online.
Professional sports betting made up nearly 80% of the overall handle. Fairmount Park boasted the highest online handle for professional sports, taking US$236 million in tier-one wagers and US$200 million in tier-two wagers.
Tier-one wagers are defined as bets placed before a sports event begins and are determined solely by the final outcome of the event. Tier-two wagers include all other types of bets, including prop bets.
Next was Casino Queen at US$116 million in tier-one online bets and US$298 million in tier-two wagers. Midwest Gaming & Entertainment also had a strong showing, reporting more than US$70.2 million in combined retail and online wagering for tier-one and tier-two sports.
College sports betting contributed nearly US$314 million to the overall handle in November. Fairmount Park led the charge, reporting over US$33 million in tier-one online wagers and US$42 million in tier-two wagers.
Casino Queen and Midwest Gaming & Entertainment also performed well and contributed a decent share to the overall results of college sports events. They reported an online handle of US$112.4 million and US$24.7 million respectively.
While smaller in volume, other events like motor racing received betting attention. Fairmount Park took in US$117,344 worth of wagers in tier-one and tier-two motor racing. Likewise, Casino Queen reported US$306,248 in combined online wagers for such events.
