Starting in Illinois, July was the first month of new tax rules in Illinois. The previous 15% flat AGR rate was replaced by a sliding scale, ranging from 20% to 40%, depending on handle. Despite handle being down against June, operators paid $14.3m (£10.8m/€12.9m) in the state in taxes on $71.1m in adjusted gross revenue (AGR), as compared to $13.8m on $84.6m AGR.

Total player spending in July amounted to $774.1m. This is 8.7% lower than June but 26.7% ahead of July last year, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.

Online betting accounted for $753.6m of the total, with retail’s share at $20.5m for July.

Professional sports drew $769.6m of bets across online and retail during the month. Motor racing bets topped $1.4m, college sports $927,015 during the summer break and other events $1.8m.

Revenue-wise, for the entire state, adjusted gross revenue (AGR) reached $71.1m. This is 22.2% less than June but 18.1% above last year’s total. Online revenue hit $70.0m, with the other $1.0m coming from retail sportsbooks.

This resulted in a 9.2% hold for the state, compared to 11.2% in June.

FanDuel retains top spot

FanDuel, one of the operators in the highest tax bracket, clinched top spot in July with $28.6m in total revenue. Long-time rival DraftKings, also in the highest tax bracket, was again second on $23.6m in revenue for the month.

Fanatics led the chasing pack with $5.2m in AGR, ahead of Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers on $4.5m. ESPN Bet was next with $3.2m, then BetMGM on $2.6m.

Handle edges up in Indiana

Turning to Indiana, player spending in August hit $307.9m. This is 18.0% ahead of July and also 29.2% more than August of last year.

Taxable AGR for the month amounted to $32.1m, up 10.7% from July and 36.6% higher year-on-year. This meant a hold of 9.2% for the month.

As for individual operators, DraftKings claimed the monthly victory with $11.4m in AGR off $112.3m in bets. FanDuel placed second with $10.2m AGR on $93.3m handle.

Iowa handle increases to $167m in August

Elsewhere, Iowa followed a similar path to Indiana in August, with revenue and handle increasing both month-on-month and year-on-year.

Consumer spending hit $167.0m, up 20.9% from July and 18.3% from last year. Of this, some $156.1m came from online betting and $10.9m retail sportsbooks.

As for revenue, the state’s total was $15.8m, a rise of 13.7% from July and 36.2% more than August 2023. Iowa’s handle for the month stood at 9.5%.

DraftKings was the online market leader with $5.4m in revenue from $64.3m in total bets. FanDuel ranked second with $3.3m off $36.9m, ahead of BetMGM on $1.4m from $13.6m.

West Virginia handle tops $52.3m

Rounding off in West Virginia, overall player spending in August amounted to $28.4m. This represents a 35.9% increase from July and a 42.7% rise from the same month in 2023.

Revenue for the month reached $4.1m, some 46.4% ahead of July and 78.3% higher year-on-year.

Operators had hold of 14.4% for the month.