The Kansas Jayhawks, who staged the biggest comeback in NCAA men’s basketball history to win the national championship over North Carolina last week, were not the only March Madness record-setters.
In Illinois, sports bettors legally wagered a record $278.4 million during the men’s tournament this year, according to revenue totals released Tuesday by the Illinois Gaming Board. The women’s basketball tournament added another $7.8 million in wagers.
Nearly 96% of the bets were placed online, boosted by a change in Illinois law that allowed online sportsbooks to compete across the state for new customers.
The $286 million in total March Madness bets netted Illinois sportsbooks $14.3 million in adjusted gross receipts — the money kept after winnings are paid out — with the state receiving about $2.1 million in tax revenue, according to the gaming board.
By comparison, Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13 generated about $61 million in bets and $9.5 million in adjusted gross receipts at Illinois sportsbooks, according to the gaming board.
Joe Boozell, lead analyst for gaming industry website PlayIllinois.com, said the $286 million wagered for March Madness in Illinois is up from about $200 million last year, and a sign that the state is becoming a hotbed for sports betting. The gaming numbers also showed that Illinois bettors did better on March Madness than the Super Bowl, with the sportsbooks keeping only about 5% of the wagers in winnings.
“Normally in Illinois, we see that number closer to 10%,” Boozell said. “It means that the sportsbooks didn’t do as well against the public during March Madness as they usually do.”
While it was only the second March Madness with legal betting in Illinois, the roughly 43% increase in the total amount wagered was helped by a change in the state’s sports wagering act last month, which permanently eliminated an in-person registration requirement. Illinois approved sports wagering in 2019 as part of a sweeping gambling expansion bill, but customers previously needed to sign up at a bricks-and-mortar sportsbook to bet online.
Illinois has nine operating retail sportsbooks, seven of which offer online sports betting. FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM, the three largest online sportsbooks in the U.S., are all partnered with downstate casinos. The amended law opened up the floodgates for the sportsbooks to woo Chicago-area customers, precipitating a seemingly nonstop blitz of TV ads throughout the month.
The state’s first sportsbook opened at Rivers Casino Des Plaines in March 2020. Within days, BetRivers was closed and March Madness was canceled at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. J.B. Pritzker waived the in-person registration requirement for 10 months during the pandemic, before the state permanently eliminated it March 5.
This year, for the first time, Illinois bettors were allowed to wager on Illinois college teams, but only in person at four Illinois sportsbooks. The two Illinois entrants in the 68-team field didn’t last long, with Illinois losing to Houston in the second round, and Loyola making a first-round exit at the hands of Ohio State.
When Kansas overcame a 16-point deficit to win the championship, it broke a 59-year record held by the Ramblers, who fought back from 15 points down to win the 1963 title against Cincinnati.
Analysts projected the amended law would boost Illinois to a record $1 billion in legal sports bets in March. Totals for the month have yet to be released by the state.
“We should see a $1 billion month by the end of 2022, and this solidifies the idea that Illinois can be the No. 2 sports betting market in the U.S. behind New York,” Boozell said.
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