Analysing some of the latest monthly sports betting reports in the US, iGB looks at how Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia performed in July and August.
Starting in Illinois, July was the first month of new tax rules in Illinois. The previous 15% flat AGR rate was replaced by a sliding scale, ranging from 20% to 40%, depending on handle. Despite handle being down against June, operators paid $14.3m (£10.8m/€12.9m) in the state in taxes on $71.1m in adjusted gross revenue (AGR), as compared to $13.8m on $84.6m AGR.
Total player spending in July amounted to $774.1m. This is 8.7% lower than June but 26.7% ahead of July last year, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
Online betting accounted for $753.6m of the total, with retail’s share at $20.5m for July.
Professional sports drew $769.6m of bets across online and retail during the month. Motor racing bets topped $1.4m, college sports $927,015 during the summer break and other events $1.8m.
Revenue-wise, for the entire state, adjusted gross revenue (AGR) reached $71.1m. This is 22.2% less than June but 18.1% above last year’s total. Online revenue hit $70.0m, with the other $1.0m coming from retail sportsbooks.
This resulted in a 9.2% hold for the state, compared to 11.2% in June.
FanDuel retains top spot
FanDuel, one of the operators in the highest tax bracket, clinched top spot in July with $28.6m in total revenue. Long-time rival DraftKings, also in the highest tax bracket, was again second on $23.6m in revenue for the month.
Fanatics led the chasing pack with $5.2m in AGR, ahead of Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers on $4.5m. ESPN Bet was next with $3.2m, then BetMGM on $2.6m.
Handle edges up in Indiana
Turning to Indiana, player spending in August hit $307.9m. This is 18.0% ahead of July and also 29.2% more than August of last year.
Taxable AGR for the month amounted to $32.1m, up 10.7% from July and 36.6% higher year-on-year. This meant a hold of 9.2% for the month.
As for individual operators, DraftKings claimed the monthly victory with $11.4m in AGR off $112.3m in bets. FanDuel placed second with $10.2m AGR on $93.3m handle.
Iowa handle increases to $167m in August
Elsewhere, Iowa followed a similar path to Indiana in August, with revenue and handle increasing both month-on-month and year-on-year.
Consumer spending hit $167.0m, up 20.9% from July and 18.3% from last year. Of this, some $156.1m came from online betting and $10.9m retail sportsbooks.
As for revenue, the state’s total was $15.8m, a rise of 13.7% from July and 36.2% more than August 2023. Iowa’s handle for the month stood at 9.5%.
DraftKings was the online market leader with $5.4m in revenue from $64.3m in total bets. FanDuel ranked second with $3.3m off $36.9m, ahead of BetMGM on $1.4m from $13.6m.
West Virginia handle tops $52.3m
Rounding off in West Virginia, overall player spending in August amounted to $28.4m. This represents a 35.9% increase from July and a 42.7% rise from the same month in 2023.
Revenue for the month reached $4.1m, some 46.4% ahead of July and 78.3% higher year-on-year.
Operators had hold of 14.4% for the month.
