Despite a 5.5% year-over-year decline in sports betting handle, Illinois’ online and retail sportsbooks still experienced an 18.8% profit spike in April.
Key Takeaways
- Illinois sportsbooks clear $1 billion in wagers for the seventh consecutive month.
- The number of bets placed was down 25% year-over-year.
- The state generated a massive $57.9 million tax haul.
The Illinois Gaming Board reported on Monday that bettors cleared $1 billion for the seventh consecutive month, reaching $1.21 billion.
The amount wagered dipped nearly 13% compared to March, which featured betting on the NCAA and conference basketball tournaments, and it’s the fourth time in 2026 that Illinois sports betting has suffered a year-over-year decrease.
Illinoisians placed over 24.9 million bets online in April, a sharp 25% year-over-year decrease, during another busy sports month highlighted by the Final Four, the start of the NBA and NHL playoffs, the first full month of MLB, and the Masters.
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Tax revenue skyrockets
The amount of wagers has been down every month since mobile operators began passing the state’s per-wager tax onto customers last fall. Still, sportsbooks combined to produce $129 million in adjusted revenue in April, the sixth consecutive month with at least $100 million in profits.
The 10.7% hold was the best win rate generated in 2026 and significantly higher than the 8.5% produced in April 2025.
The high Illinois revenue, combined with a progressive tax system (20% to 40% of operator revenue) and a per-wager tax, which costs online operators 25 cents on every bet for the first 20 million and 50 cents after, filled the coffers with $57.9 million in April, a 49.6% year-over-year increase.
Operators paid out $10.9 million in per-wager tax for the second consecutive month, increasing the year-to-date total to $43.1 million.
FanDuel posts double-digit hold
| Online Operator | April Handle | Adjusted Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $418.5 million | $44.4 million |
| FanDuel | $333.6 million | $43.3 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $129.2 million | $9.7 million |
| BetMGM | $65.9 million | $6.6 million |
| BetRivers | $62.3 million | $7 million |
| bet365 | $60.2 million | $6 million |
DraftKings led all online operators with a $418.5 million handle and $44.4 million, both slightly higher than last April. However, DraftKings’ 10.6% hold was much lower than FanDuel’s 13% win rate, which generated $43.3 million in adjusted revenue on 20% less handle than its rival.
The state’s two biggest sports betting brands accounted for nearly 69% of $127.2 million in adjusted revenue that online operators produced in April. They also shared the bulk of the per-wager tax. The state charged DraftKings $5.3 mllion, while FanDuel sent $4 million.
Fanatics hauled in $9.7 million, a 10% year-over-year spike, in adjusted revenue from a $129.2 million handle that was down $14 million from April 2025. BetRivers won back an impressive 11.2% of a $7 million revenue haul, while BetMGM wasn’t far behind at 10%, the same hold as bet365.
More taxation
Illinois recently approved new taxes on prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, as well as daily fantasy sports sites. DFS operators requested that the state create a consistent tax structure, so they’ll begin paying out 15% of gross receipts on July 1.
Illinois lawmakers want to add prediction markets under the Sports Wagering Act and levy an unreleased tax percentage against operators. However, the state was sued in April by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal regulator of prediction markets.
