Illinois Sports Betting Revenue In August Dominated By BetRivers

• BetRivers had a big revenue month in August making up 84.2% of the total sports betting handle in the state of Illinois.
• The reason the sportsbook was able to dominate the month is because of the remote registration executive order that was started around the time it launched.
• Now that other major sportsbooks have also entered the Illinois sports betting market, the monthly report should be more evenly spread.

CHICAGO – According to the Illinois sports betting monthly report, BetRivers’s August revenue soared and accounted for a majority of the handle in the state.

The headstart over all of the other popular sports betting platforms definitely benefited BetRivers by giving the company great results for a month where major sports were restarting after the pandemic shutdowns.

BetRivers was responsible for 84.2 percent of the total handle for sports wagering in Illinois for August which was $139.8 million. This total was a huge jump from the $52.5 million that was generated in July.

The company brought in a total of $117.7 million in legal sports betting handle which left the other $21.1 million split between FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook apps along with fours land-based only sportsbooks around the state.

Why BetRivers Dominated August

The reason the production was so lopsided was because of the starting and stopping of executive orders made by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

In June, Pritzker signed an executive order to suspend the requirement of in-person registration for sports betting platforms in light of the coronavirus pandemic. This caused a wave of registrations now that players were able to register for accounts in the comfort of their homes.

Because BetRivers launched its mobile app in the state only two weeks after the suspension of in-person registration, the company took advantage of the rise in new bettors signing up for accounts.

As many companies began to enter Illinois’ sports betting market because of the boost, Pritzker did not renew the executive order in July which slowed down new customers right when companies like DraftKings and FanDuel went live.

Can BetRivers Maintain Their Lead?

The executive order was renewed on August 21 allowing bettors to register remotely until at least October 17, which has shown a rise in new registrations. This will undoubtedly allow for the FanDuel and DraftKings to account for more sign-ups.

These two are not the only sportsbooks that will even the playing field with BetRivers because PointsBet and William Hill both launched in September in time for the start of NFL betting.

Only time will tell if BetRivers can keep the lion’s share of the sports betting market in Illinois.

News tags: BetRivers | DraftKings | FanDuel | Governor JB Pritzker | Illinois | PointsBet | William Hill