Illinois Sports Betting Revenue Reaches $116.5m in July 2026

Illinois sportsbooks reported $116.5 million in adjusted gross revenue for July 2026, on roughly $1.05 billion in handle, the Illinois Gaming Board said on 29 September 2026. The July figures mark about a 30% increase in sports betting revenue versus July 2025 and followed a month of heavy mobile activity tied to the 2026 World Cup.

Illinois sports betting revenue and handle in July 2026

The Illinois Gaming Board’s monthly release shows total sportsbook handle in July was approximately $1.05 billion, with operators retaining $116.5 million in adjusted gross revenue. More than 21 million wagers were placed across the state during the month, up 13.2% year over year. Retail shops accounted for only $13.8 million of the total handle, underscoring how the Illinois market now depends heavily on mobile sportsbooks.

July’s $116.5 million in adjusted revenue compares with $89.8 million in July 2025. Hold — the share of handle the market kept — rose relative to June 2026, when sportsbooks experienced one of the lowest holds of the year during concentrated World Cup, NBA and NHL action. In July, operators kept about 11.1% of wagers, a level that produced the reported revenue increase.

DraftKings and FanDuel lead the Illinois market

DraftKings led online betting in Illinois with a $382.7 million handle and $42.5 million in adjusted revenue for July. FanDuel followed with a $286.1 million handle and $36.9 million in adjusted revenue. The full July online sportsbook leaderboard published by the Illinois Gaming Board shows:

• DraftKings: $382.7 million handle, $42.5 million adjusted revenue

• FanDuel: $286.1 million handle, $36.9 million adjusted revenue

• Fanatics Sportsbook: $89.1 million handle, $7.9 million adjusted revenue

• BetMGM: $67.7 million handle, $6.4 million adjusted revenue

• bet365: $61.3 million handle, $6.7 million adjusted revenue

• BetRivers: $40.9 million handle, $5.1 million adjusted revenue

DraftKings therefore remained the market leader by volume and also generated the largest single-operator adjusted revenue figure.

Illinois per-wager tax produced $5.4 million in July

July 2026 completed the first year under Illinois’s per-wager sports betting charge, which the state introduced on 1 July 2025 in addition to existing sports wagering taxes. The mechanism charges operators $0.25 for each of the first 20 million online wagers placed with an operator during the fiscal year and $0.50 for every wager above that level.

More than 21 million bets were placed in July, producing roughly $5.4 million in revenue from the per-wager charge alone. DraftKings paid close to $2.4 million under that wager tax in July, while FanDuel contributed around $1.7 million. Total sports betting tax collections for the month were $29.6 million, and Cook County received $1.17 million from the statewide take.

How the World Cup affected July results

The 2026 World Cup helped lift July handle and revenue in Illinois, mirroring national patterns. The American Gaming Association reported commercial-market handle across the US rose 31.9% year over year to $11.6 billion in July, with national sports betting revenue reaching $1.27 billion. Illinois’s performance followed that broader increase in cross‑market betting activity.

June 2026 showed a contrasting picture; heavy successful wagering by bettors during the World Cup and the NBA and NHL finals produced one of the lowest sportsbook holds of the year and softer operator revenue. July reversed that hold outcome for Illinois operators, producing both higher handle and stronger adjusted revenue compared with July 2025.

What operators and market observers should note

Mobile channels dominated July’s activity: retail wagering made up a small fraction of total handle, at $13.8 million. The per-wager tax is now an additional line on operator cost statements and will be a factor in operator margin calculations for the fiscal year. Tax receipts and municipal distributions — including the $1.17 million to Cook County in July — will be monitored by local stakeholders as the new charge completes its first full year in place.

For operators competing in Illinois, the numbers underline two realities: volume leadership still delivers the highest adjusted revenue (DraftKings), and market-wide events such as the World Cup can materially shift hold and monthly returns. Analysts watching the state will be looking at subsequent monthly statements to see whether the July bounce sustains through the NFL season.

Where this sits in the wider regulatory and market context

The Illinois Gaming Board’s figures provide the official monthly snapshot for one of the largest US state markets. Operators named in the report — DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics Sportsbook, BetMGM, bet365 and BetRivers — accounted for the major share of online activity. Observers tracking regulatory outcomes and tax flows can consult the IGB’s monthly release for the full dataset; commercially, the market’s reliance on mobile channels and the new per-wager levy are the two structural elements that shaped July’s results.

For additional coverage of how betting volumes and taxes interact with marketplace behaviour, see industry reporting in our sports and regulation sections.