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Growth Of Online Gambling ln Illinois

‘It’s Last-Minute Hurrah for Illinois Sports Gambling Market Days Before the Return of In-Person Rule,’ ‘Online Gambling Scrutinized In Illinois House Debate,” ‘Illinois Sports Betting Revenue Hits $435 Million In The Month Of October,’ read some of the headlines this year.

With those headlines, it is evident that a lot is going on in the state of Illinois with regard to gambling. Like any other U.S state where gambling is legal, Illinois gambling has come a long way.

But what is there to know about gambling in Illinois? With what has been happening, can anyone say there is growth in the Illinois online gambling sector? Let’s see what things looked like in 2021.

In-Person Registration Continues to Receive Critical Support

At the beginning of the year, Trevor Hayes, the William Hill government’s head of relations moved a motion. Mr. Hayes proposed that the requirement of in-person registration is not viable. According to Trevor, this requirement is hindering many wagers to play their favorite games as they could.

John Pappas, iDEA Growth spokesperson seconded Trevor. The two gentlemen argued that insisting that there must be an in-person registration of any sort is not only a waste of time but also throwing away money.

For Trevor, nearly 75% of all the bets placed at William Hill come from online. In fact, Trevor said that the percentage is much higher in other states. “Some states are recording a much higher rise than what we see in Illinois,” Trevor said.

The William Hill head and John Pappas are not the only gaming officials who’ve raised their voice in opposition to the regulation. Jeff Kaplan an official at Penn National Gaming also joined the bandwagon. Jeff said, “The requirement is not necessary at the moment.”

In the past, Governor JB Pritzker had ordered the suspension of the requirement citing that it wasn’t a big issue during that time. Thanks to the governor’s two-time intervention, the industry recorded good results. The intervention was timely because it came at a time the pandemic was at its all-time high.

Growth Each Month of The Year

Starting with January 2021, revenue from Illinois online betting saw a steady rise. Statistics indicate that in the month of February, Illinois online gambling collection was higher than that of Pennsylvania.

It was the first time in the online gambling history for the two states. But with the move to bring back the in-person registration, there are concerns whether revenue collection will see a descending curve yet again.

According to Illinois Gaming Board, gamblers wagered a whopping $509.8 million in the month of February 2021. Although Pennsylvania came right behind Illinois with $509.5 million, it was the first time Illinois beat Pennsylvania.

However, when looking critically on the month-to-month performance, January’s collection was higher than February. In the first month of the year, bettors used a whopping $581.6 million, which is over $70 million compared to the second month.

Looking how things were on the other side, you will see that in the first month of 2021, the state of Pennsylvania did wonderful. The state’s online gambling collection was at $615.4 million. After recording the highest revenue for the month of February, Illinois became number three above Pennsylvania.

Here is the list of the top 5 states with high revenue collection in the month of February 2021:

  • New Jersey – $742.9 million
  • Nevada – $554.1 million
  • Illinois – $509.8 million
  • Pennsylvania – $509.5 million
  • Michigan – $325.6 million

Back at home, DraftKings maintained the lead. The online casino stayed on top despite stiff competition from fellow online wagering platforms. To lead others, DraftKings collected $196.5 million from its online handle.

Others that followed with high revenue collection include:

  • Par-A-Dice: $158.4 million
  • Rivers: $86.9 million
  • Hawthorne Race Course: $39.5 million
  • Grand Victoria: $8.8 million

In-Person Registration Suspension to Expire

Critics of the Illinois wagering business say that with the in-person registration suspension ending soon, things will be tough. Whether their argument is right or not, the truth will come true after the suspension ends.

Those opposed to the in-person registration hold to the thought that going back to the registration again will take the online betting business down. Nonetheless, over the months, remote registration has boosted the massive growth witnessed over the past 12 months.

DraftKings and FanDuel, two main players in the online wagering business say that going back to in-person registration will be a bad idea. The two have managed to separate revenue that comes from online bets from those that come from in-person registrations.

In the month of March, Illinois online betting received a major boost. That month, Barstool Sportsbook found its way to the Illinois online gambling market. To gain entry, the betting company conducted massive marketing campaign.

Thanks to the marketing campaign, observers say that the remaining days of the year will see a difference in terms of revenue.

Online Apps Boost Illinois Online Betting

DraftKings, the leader in Illinois online betting has made another huge step. The betting company has partnered with FanDuel a Par-A-Dice online app and Casino Queen. This new partnership will see to it that gamblers who don’t leave their living rooms for one reason or another can still place their bets.

The advertisement is mainly placed on Chicago television stations. Thanks to this, DraftKings is able to get clients away from home.  To show the important of the partnership, Casino Queen said in a statement that the results have been overwhelming.

“We are happy to say that over 98% of all the revenue we got in the month of October came from online bets via DraftKings,” said a statement from Casino Queen.

On November 2, 2021, official statement from the governor, informed by public health officials said all live casinos should be closed. With that statement, it is now hard for gamblers in Illinois to wager from land-based casinos.

Meanwhile, online gambling will continue to operate. What is more, land-based casinos have shut their doors as part of ways to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Evidently, this is a time for the online betting sector to reap. Chances are there will be a surge in Illinois online gambling.

 

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