Illinois Sports Betting Handle In March Tops $600 Million

Sports betting handle hit $633.6 million in March.
This can be attributed to March Madness betting.
This is the last full month where remote registry was allowed in Illinois.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Sports betting fans in Illinois were active during the March Madness tournament, setting a new record for betting handle.

With Governor JB Pritzker opting to not renew the executive order that allowed for remote registry for online sports betting, March was the last month that allowed for players to get in on mobile betting without having to travel to sign up.

What this means is while the Illinois sports betting is celebrating reaching all-time highs in activity, the state should expect to see major dips going forward.

Illinois March Madness Betting Boom

According to the official report released by the Illinois Gaming Board, local bettors wagered a record-high $633.6 million in March.

In terms of sports betting revenue, sportsbooks also saw $44.3 million on a 7% hold rate. The state also saw a record-high $6.6 million in revenue in March.

With many upsets and high-profile games in the March Madness Tournament, many betting fans were placing heavy action throughout.

This is why online sportsbooks saw $117,624,681.08 in wagers in March on college sports alone. Retail sportsbooks saw $3,192,566.88 in college sports wagers for a total of $120,817,247.96. Local betting fans also wagered $214,923,199.83 on professional sports in March as well.

Remote Registry Ends

With the ending of the remote registry in Illinois, local books can expect to see a decline in action for a time going forward.

Since many sports betting fans tend to place action on certain events specifically, the state is bound to see a dip with the end of March Madness betting. This would usually be subsided by new betting fans signing up, but the number of new bettors will decrease as well with betting fans now required to physically sign up at the local casino operations.

For context, residents in Chicago would have to drive upwards of four and a half hours to register at the DraftKings Casino Queen sportsbook. This may indirectly lead to an increase in revenue in Indiana, as it would be quicker for Chicagoans to travel across state lines and register remotely from there.

The required physical registry is only temporary, however, as the state made an 18-month mandate in order to allow local books to get an early competitive edge against bigger sports betting operations.

By the start of the NFL season, remote registry will return and Illinois will be able to see a new spike in betting activity.

Advertising Disclosure

In order to provide you with the best independent sports betting news and content LegalSportsBetting.com may receive a commission from partners when you make a purchase through a link on our site.

Giovanni Shorter

Coming from a background in narrative-based writing, Giovanni strives to write stories that will keep the reader engaged. Although he does pride himself in being accurate, how the story is told is also very important to him. When he’s not keeping readers up to date on sports betting laws and legislation, you can find him writing and recording music, playing videogames, or engaged in heated sports debates with his friends.