Illinois, BetRivers Rake in September Earnings

The BetRivers online sportsbook and mobile app located at the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines was the unanimous leader for Illinois sports betting in September. The numbers released in November confirm BetRivers on top of the state's sportsbook revenues. 

Illinois sports betting officially launched on March 9, 2020, with the first bet coincidentally also being taken through BetRivers at Rivers Casino. The sportsbook comes out on top taking in more than $150 million in wagers, despite the heavy competition of top betting sites in the state. 

This is from the approximately $285 million the entire state of Illinois took in. 

Month 2020

Total Handle

June

$8,281,803

July 

$52,524,820

August

$139,764,080

September 

$285,000,000

This could be due to the local origins of BetRivers. The sportsbook is a product of Rush Street Interactive, the publicly traded gaming company that is based in Chicago. Rivers Casino has also long been one of the state’s most popular and lucrative casinos, making the pairing with Rush Street’s BetRivers all the more promising.

Sports Betting in Illinois: Bill Amendment Opens up Industry

Illinois is not the only Midwest state to have online sports betting. Both Iowa and Indiana have also had the industry live since 2019. 

Both of these states may also have been major reasons for Illinois legalizing the industry as its citizens would go bet in these two bordering states, losing them potential tax dollars. 

With Chicago being such a major sports city, the logical decision came in March 2020 to legalize the practice. 

However, the sports betting industry in Illinois began quite slowly and quietly. Due to both the Covid lockdown as well as the original bill requiring players to register in-person, Illinois only took in $61.8 million from the time of the first bet until July. 

These numbers were certainly not impressive, and only half of the slow start could be attributed to covid, as the in-person registration severely limited the betting that could go on in the state. 

This was indeed a problem as the physical locations for sports betting were now closed, and/or far away from many residents and potential bettors. If you lived five hours away from Rivers Casino, for example, it would take an entire day just to get started. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker took action and eased the rule on August 2nd, allowing players to register and begin betting directly on their mobile devices. The decision made a major impact on the industry. 

The state in total amassed over $285 million dollars on sports competitions in the month of September, much higher than the other months combined. Over 92% of the bets made in the state came from a mobile device. 

New Jersey leads the nation in sports betting revenue, taking in over $803 million in wagers in October. 

BetRivers Illinois Sportsbook

Launched by Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive, Both BetRivers and its identical sportsbook PlaySugarHouse are available in multiple states in the US. 

The sportsbooks deserve a high amount of praise for their long lists of betting markets, live betting and streaming, and well designed mobile apps allowing for convenient and comfortable wagering. 

This is in addition to the excellent local promotions and rewards section, betting features and more. It first launched in Illinois on March 9, taking the first bet in the state and had led Illinois in revenue on more than one occasion. 

The online sportsbook holds up as one of the best in the country, and is partnered with Rivers Casino, located about 20 minutes from Chicago.