Illinois continued a trend felt across the largest sports betting jurisdictions in the U.S. during June and ended a four-month streak with year-over-year handle declines.
Key Takeaways
- Illinois was the seventh state among the top 12 markets to see a year-over-year handle increase of at least 20%.
- Bettors produced the sportsbooks’ lowest hold since September 2025.
- Most of the top online operators enjoyed a handle increase, but profits were hard to come by in June.
The Prairie State’s $1.14 billion sports betting handle in a month that featured the NBA Finals and World Cup group stage matches spiked 20% from June 2025, making Illinois the seventh market out of the top 12 in dollars wagered to see an increase of at least 20%.
The Illinois Gaming Board reported the 10th consecutive billion-dollar handle on Monday, and June matched the previous month’s total. Handles across the U.S. spiked as much as 36% as bettors showed up for soccer’s main event on North American soil.
Illinois was only the second state to generate at least $1 billion in wagers for the month, along with New York, which produced $2.25 billion.
The Prairie State reversed a different trend. There were 10.5 million bets placed in June, up from 9.4 million wagers during the same month in 2025. The number of bets had been declining year-over-year since October.
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Bettors fight back
Despite the uptick, bettors had their strongest month of 2026, thanks partly to the U.S. men’s national team’s early World Cup success and the plethora of goals scored by the tournament’s top stars. Operators produced just an 8% hold, the lowest win rate since September 2025.
Adjusted revenue of $90.9 million decreased 21.2% compared to June 2025, which is also the last time Illinois sports betting operators combined to make less than $100 million in a single month.
The state hauled in $43.3 million, with $10.5 million of that revenue coming from the per-wager tax, which had been the cause of the recent dips in bets placed as sportsbooks have passed the surcharge on customers.
Ups and downs
| Online Operator | June Handle | Adjusted Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $433.4 million | $32.8 million |
| FanDuel | $309.9 million | $28.9 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $100.6 million | $6.7 million |
| BetMGM | $68.9 million | $5.5 million |
| bet365 | $61.4 million | $4.4 million |
| BetRivers | $42.4 million | $4.1 million |
Six of the top five online sports betting operators experienced a year-over-year handle increase, but just one produced more adjusted revenue. BetMGM was the outlier in both categories.
DraftKings led all sportsbooks with a $433.4 million handle, its largest since March. However, the online operator’s profit fell 18% year-over-year to $32.8 million.
FanDuel posted an even bigger dip, with Illinois revenue falling more than 30% to $28.9 million on a $309.9 million handle, but its 9.3% hold was still better than DraftKings’ 7.6% win rate.
Fanatics only held onto 6.7% of a handle that topped $100 million for the fifth consecutive month. BetMGM produced an 8% hold on $68.9 million in wagers, while bet365 and BetRivers both cleared $4 million in adjusted revenue, despite neither recording a win rate over 8%.
