Despite the trend of a declining number of wagers placed in Illinois, the Prairie State’s sports betting handle dipped less than 3% year-over-year to $1.43 billion in January.
Key Takeaways
- Illinois bettors placed 28.9 million bets in January, down from 36 million during the same month in 2025.
- Adjusted gross revenue and a 9.7% hold were both year-over-year decreases.
- FanDuel has produced $110 million in adjusted revenue over the last two reported months.
In a month that included the NFL playoffs and the college football postseason, the Illinois Gaming Board reported that online and retail sportsbooks generated more than $1.3 billion, marking the fifth consecutive month of more than $1.3 billion.
However, the total bets placed decreased by 20% compared to January 2025. Illinois instituted a per-wager tax on online sports betting operators in July 2025, leading sportsbooks to implement their own surcharges to balance the cost.
Illinoisans placed nearly 28.9 million wagers at the start of 2026, down from over 36 million in the previous January. The volume of bets has noticeably decreased since October, with December’s 25% year-over-year drop the largest since operators began paying out 25 cents on every bet to the state on the first 20 million wagers and 50 cents over that mark.
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Revenue falls
Illinois sports betting operators reported a combined adjusted gross revenue of $138.5 millon in January 2026, with online sportsbooks producing taxable Illinois revenue of $137 million of that total. The 9.7% combined hold was down from a double-digit win rate in January 2025.
Operators’ profits were down nearly 6% year-over-year, while Illinois online sportsbooks generated over $6 million less revenue.
The state received $49.1 million in total tax revenue from the Illinois progressive tax rate, including $48.8 million from mobile operators.
Sportsbooks paid out another $12.5 million in per-wager taxes to the Prairie State, nearly identical to the December haul. DraftKings and FanDuel accounted for $11.6 million of that total. Chicago-area’s Cook County received $1.3 million in tax revenue.
FanDuel wins big again
| Online Operator | January Handle | Adjusted Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $505.6 million | $47 million |
| FanDuel | $412.4 million | $50.3 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $98.9 million | $9.9 million |
| BetMGM | $86.7 million | $7 million |
| BetRivers | $70 million | $4.3 million |
| bet365 | $69.7 million | $7 million |
FanDuel’s 12.2% hold and $50.3 million in adjusted revenue led all Illinois operators in January. The online sportsbook hauled in over $110 millon in profits between the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026.
DraftKings’ $505.6 million handle was $93 million more than FanDuel's, on a million fewer bets than its competitor. DraftKings produced a 9.3% hold after going over 10% in December.
Fanatics was right at 10% for its hold in January and generated the third-most dollars wagered. BetMGM won back 8.1% of an $86.7 million handle, while bet365 hauled in $2.7 million more than BetRivers, despite a nearly equal handle.
Legislative season
Illinois lawmakers are considering rescinding the per-wager tax this legislative session. House Bill 5143 aims to end the surcharge on July 1. The bill has already been read by the Rules Committee and was assigned to the Revenue and Finance Committee on March 4.
Another Prairie State bill wants to regulate prediction markets. The Prediction Market Regulation and Taxation Act would give the Illinois Gaming Board the power to penalize unlicensed trading exchanges and enforce a 50% tax rate on prediction market platforms.
