The Illinois Gaming Board reported $108.6 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for April, but most of the talk surrounding the second-largest market in the United States continues to be the surcharges FanDuel and DraftKings plan on enacting in the fall.
Operator revenue was up 18.1% compared to last year, slightly outpacing the 16.4% rise in handle, to $1.28 billion. Illinois was again ahead of Nevada for the No. 3 spot for handle in the post-PASPA era, moving within $306 million of $50 billion. The Land of Lincoln likely will be holding onto that spot permanently as it widened the gap between itself and Nevada to nearly $1.2 billion.
The state collected $38.7 million in tax receipts, with FanDuel and DraftKings again accounting for the bulk of that amount with a combined remittance of $30 million while paying the maximum 40% rate based on revenue thresholds. Both online titans announced plans for a 50-cent surcharge on all wagers starting Sept. 1 in response to state legislature passing a budget bill that included a 25-cent surcharge on the first 20 million wagers accepted by a licensee and 50 cents on all wagers thereafter.
The $55.2 budget bill is awaiting Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature, and the surcharge would take effect July 1 at the start of the next fiscal year.
Let’s talk taxes and surcharges
The palpable frustration of FanDuel and DraftKings is understandable given that the surcharge passed this legislative session marks the second consecutive year the two operators face the potential of bearing the brunt of lawmakers’ changes.
It can be argued the surcharge is doubly frustrating considering the overhaul of the tax rates last year to progressive ones will satisfy the ask Pritzker made then in looking to raise $200 million in additional revenue. The $343.6 million in total receipts collected with two months of reports still remaining in Fiscal Year 2025 is $190.8 million more than the same period for FY 2024, with mobile tax receipts via FanDuel and DraftKings totaling $273.5 million of that amount between them.
If the surcharge remains in place by this time next year, both operators would again be facing the maximum 40% rate based on performance and remit the additional per-wager tax at the higher rate. Their 25.8 million combined wagers would have amounted to an additional $12.9 million in taxes for the month. FanDuel and DraftKings would have had a combined tax bill of $42.9 million for April with both levies in place.
The other eight mobile sportsbooks — none of which project to reach the 20 million wager threshold to trigger the 50-cent surcharge by April — would have remitted a combined $1.9 million. Fanatics would have had the biggest share at just over $415,000, while bet365’s surcharge tax would have totaled $393,400.
OK, but how did the books fare in April?
Sportsbooks across the state had a collective 8.5% hold in April, which was a slight increase from 12 months prior. FanDuel paced all mobile operators with $40.8 million in revenue, with $29.6 million of that amount sourced to parlay bets. It posted an 18.7% hold on the multi-leg wagers, with the $158.7 million wagered a year-over-year increase of 17.7%.
DraftKings was the only other online sportsbook with an eight-figure revenue haul, totaling $34.2 million with an 8.3% win rate against $414.1 million completed handle. Its 15.9% hold on parlays was right around the overall mark of 16%, resulting in $19.3 million in winnings.
Fanatics continued to consolidate its No. 3 status in Illinois, posting a nine-figure handle for the seventh consecutive month at $115.1 million. It finished with a 7.7% hold in claiming $8.8 million in revenue and moved within $8.8 million of $100 million in revenue for the fiscal year, which would trigger entry into the 35% tax bracket.
Bet365’s first full month of action in Illinois showed the England-based sportsbook gaining popularity quickly. Its $56.1 million handle was a 49.1% increase from March and good for sixth among the 10 digital operators. Bet365 finished with a 7.9% hold in keeping $4.4 million for revenue.
ESPN BET had the best hold among mobile sportsbooks at 10.5% to claim $4.2 million in revenue. BetMGM, bet365, and BetRivers were separated by $277,644 in slotting fourth through sixth, with BetMGM leading the trio at nearly $4.7 million.
Bettors posted a narrow win against Circa for the month, coming out $202,074 ahead on $11.3 million worth of wagers. The Las Vegas-based operator has an interesting dynamic going in Illinois: Circa’s mobile sportsbook has totaled less than $150,000 in revenue in the calendar year with a 0.3% hold from $52.2 million handle while its retail book based at The Temporary in Waukegan has more than tripled that amount with $506,800 in winnings and a 10.4% win rate on $4.9 million worth of accepted bets.
