Press Releases
PlayIllinois.com: Sportsbooks post huge month, but March could be ‘last hurrah’ for major growth
Illinois sportsbooks set records for betting and revenue in March, easily reaching $600 million in monthly wagering for the first time and again surpassing Pennsylvania, a dramatic turn one year after the industry’s launch was spoiled by the pandemic-related shutdown of major U.S. sports. But as far as Illinois has come, the state’s newfound position as the nation’s No. 3 market could be short-lived as in-person registration requirements begin to take hold, said PlayIllinois, which analyzes and researches the state’s regulated online gaming and sports betting market.
“March Madness helped deliver a huge month for Illinois, but March is essentially a ‘last hurrah’ for the state’s rapid growth,” said Joe Boozell, analyst for PlayIllinois.com. “Illinois will still be one of the largest U.S. markets because of the population of the state, but it will be difficult to maintain its current status as the U.S. No. 3, much less catch Nevada. No matter how appealing a market, there isn’t any easy way to overcome the inconvenience of in-person registration.”
Spurred by March Madness, betting at Illinois’s retail and online sportsbooks surged to $633.6 million in March, according to official data released Monday. That is up 24.3% from $509.8 million in February and easily topped the previous record $581.6 million in January. Bettors placed $20.4 million per day in the 31 days of March, up from $18.2 million per day in February.
March’s high volume produced $49.9 million in operator revenue, up 64.6% from $30.3 million in February and narrowly topping the record $49.4 million in January. The month’s win created $44.3 million in taxable revenue, which yielded $6.6 million in state taxes and another $493,543 in local taxes.
Illinois surpassed Pennsylvania ($560.3 million) in monthly handle for the second straight month and gained ground on New Jersey ($859.6 million) and Nevada ($641 million). In doing so, the state surpassed $3 billion ($3.6 billion) in lifetime handle.
That stands in stark contrast to March 2020, when Illinois launched retail sportsbooks, taking in $997,739 in bets before a wave of sports cancellations essentially put a hold on sports betting in Illinois until July.
“The growth over the last year has been staggering, making Illinois the quickest to $3 billion in U.S. history,” said Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayIllinois. “The question now becomes what will happen when the brakes are hit on that growth? Does it alarm lawmakers enough to make a change? Or will Illinois be satisfied with where the sports betting market has been frozen in place?”
The NCAA Tournament was the main driver in March, generating an estimated $176.8 million in bets even as bettors were barred from wagering on Illinois and Loyola Chicago. The NBA also drew well, helping to push basketball betting to $365.7 million. The previous high for basketball in a month was $256.7 million.
Tennis also continues to do especially well in Illinois, hitting $47.2 million in wagering, the second-most wagered-on sport.
“Illinois has grown in some unique ways, but the state’s love of basketball has really carried the state over the last few months,” Boozell said. “If the ban on betting on in-state college teams didn’t exist, Illinois would have likely been the No. 2 market in the U.S. in March.”
Online wagering accounted for 96.1%, or $609 million, of all bets in March. Retail betting generated the remaining $24.6 million.
DraftKings/Casino Queen represented 32.2% of the state’s entire handle in March, generating $207.6 million in online and retail wagers, up from the operator’s $199.8 million handle in February. Nearly $203.9 million of March’s bets came online.
FanDuel/Fairmont attracted $195.2 million in bets — $194.9 million of which came online. BetRivers/Rivers Casino continued to lose pace with the market leaders, generating $95.7 million in online betting and $106.9 million overall, up from $86.9 million in February.
The leaders were followed by:
PointsBet/Hawthorne Race Course ($55 million in wagers, including $53.6 million online; $5.1 million in revenue)
Barstool/Hollywood Casinos ($48.9 million in wagers, including $47.8 million online; $1.1 million in revenue)
William Hill/Grand Victoria ($14.2 million in wagers, including $13.3 million online; -$270,456 in revenue)
Argosy ($4.1 million in wagers; $410,477 in revenue)
Hollywood Joliet ($1.2 million in wagers; $127,344 in revenue)
Par-A-Dice ($628,286 in wagers; -$163,180 in revenue)
“One of the biggest issues with the return of in-person registration is it puts newly launched operators at a permanent disadvantage,” Welman said. “In one way, Barstool was fortunate to launch when it did, helping them build a foundation. But growth will be difficult for all operators, and especially those that are farther away from the largest population centers.”
For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting in Illinois, visit PlayIllinois.com/news.
About the PlayUSA.com Network:
The PlayUSA.com Network is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States. With a presence in over a dozen states, PlayUSA.com and its state-focused branches (including PlayIndiana.com, PlayIllinois.com, PlayNJ.com and PlayPennsylvania.com) produce daily original reporting, publish in-depth research, and offer player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online gaming options for consumers. Based in Las Vegas, the PlayUSA Network is independently owned and operated, with no affiliation to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.
All-Cash Transaction Unlocks Significant, Unrealized Value for Boyd Shareholders
Boyd, FanDuel Extend Market-Access Agreements through 2038
Boyd Gaming Corporation announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the Company’s 5% equity interest in FanDuel Group to Flutter Entertainment plc for cash consideration of $1.755 billion.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. The Company intends to use net proceeds to reduce debt.
Keith Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd, said: “This transaction unlocks the tremendous unrealized value that our investment in FanDuel has created for our Company. As a result, we are in a significantly stronger financial position to continue executing our strategy of investing in our properties, pursuing growth opportunities, returning capital to our shareholders, and maintaining a strong balance sheet.”
In addition to purchasing Boyd’s equity interest in FanDuel, Boyd and FanDuel will terminate certain existing market-access agreements between the parties and enter into new agreements to provide, among other things, for an extended term through 2038. The agreements will also provide Boyd with a fixed fee per state from FanDuel’s mobile sports-betting operations in Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, as well as FanDuel’s online casino operations in Pennsylvania, upon the close of this transaction. FanDuel will also continue to operate Boyd’s retail sportsbooks outside of Nevada through mid-2026, after which time Boyd will assume responsibility for these operations.
Under terms of the revised market-access agreements with FanDuel, the Company now expects its Online segment will generate $50 million to $55 million in operating income and Adjusted EBITDAR for the full year 2025, and approximately $30 million in 2026.
Smith added: “The partnership between Boyd and FanDuel has been a remarkable success for both companies. FanDuel has emerged as the nation’s clear leader in online sports-betting, while Boyd has been able to leverage this partnership to profitably participate in the rapid growth of sports betting across the country. It has been a privilege to work with the Flutter and FanDuel teams, and we look forward to supporting FanDuel’s continued growth and success through our market-access agreements across the country.”
Moelis & Company LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Boyd Gaming on the transaction. Morrison & Foerster LLP served as legal advisor to Boyd Gaming on the transaction, with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP advising on the commercial agreements.
The three Detroit casinos—MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown—collectively generated $101.04 million in revenue for June 2025.
Table games and slot machines accounted for $100.38 million of the monthly total, while retail sports betting contributed $665,435.
June 2025 Market Share:
• MGM Grand Detroit: 48%
• MotorCity Casino: 31%
• Hollywood Casino at Greektown: 21%
Table Games and Slot Machine Revenue
Revenue from table games and slots decreased by 4.0% compared with June 2024 and dropped 11% from May 2025. For the first half of 2025 (January 1 – June 30), combined table games and slots revenue was down 0.8% year-over-year.
Casino-specific revenues compared to June 2024 were:
• MGM Grand Detroit: $48.43 million, down 0.6%
• MotorCity Casino: $30.63 million, down 2.7%
• Hollywood Casino at Greektown: $21.32 million, down 12.5%
The three casinos paid $8.1 million in state gaming taxes in June 2025, down from $8.5 million in June 2024. They also submitted $11.9 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to the City of Detroit.
Retail Sports Betting Revenue
In June 2025, the casinos reported a combined retail sports betting handle of $7.2 million, generating $666,374 in gross receipts. Qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) from retail sports betting fell 25.1% from June 2024 and 48.1% from May 2025.
QAGR by casino:
• MGM Grand Detroit: $275,397
• MotorCity Casino: $242,069
• Hollywood Casino at Greektown: $147,969
The casinos paid $25,153 in state taxes from retail sports betting revenue and submitted $30,743 in wagering taxes to the City of Detroit.
Fantasy Contests
Fantasy contest operators reported $716,927 in adjusted revenues for May 2025 and paid $60,222 in taxes.
In a landmark corporate transformation, Lottery.com Inc. has officially rebranded as SEGG Media Corporation — Sports Entertainment Gaming Global Media — completing one of the most dynamic turnarounds in recent history. Effective immediately, SEGG Media will begin trading under its new ticker symbol: SEGG.
This milestone marks more than a name change. It signals a definitive close to legacy issues, paving the way for a new era of growth across sports, media and ethical gaming. With the support of shareholders, employees, and strategic partners, SEGG Media is now structurally and financially positioned to emerge as a modern-day global sports and entertainment conglomerate.
Strategic Architecture: One Group, Three Pillars
SEGG Media operates through three distinct yet synergistic verticals:
- Sports.com – The global home of sport: Live immersive streaming, sim racing, football, motorsports, eSports, youth driver programs and athlete-driven content. Sports.com Studios, Sports.com Media, and Nook will operate under the sports vertical;
- Entertainment – The live experience layer: AI-driven event streaming, music media, hybrid entertainment, fashion and fan engagement platforms. Upon completion of the acquisition of DotCom Ventures, Inc., Concerts.com and TicketStub.com will operate under this vertical; and
- Lottery.com – The ethical gaming engine: International lotteries, iGaming, instant wins, sports betting and charity-aligned gaming initiatives. Domestic and global lottery operations, Tinbu, and WinTogether will operate under the gaming vertical.
Together, these pillars form a foundation designed for global expansion, fan engagement and long-term shareholder value creation.
A New Generation Sports & Entertainment Conglomerate
SEGG Media is built for the next generation — a fan-first business model designed to combine immersive media, cash-generative assets and technology-forward experiences. The Company will bring all sports under one roof, while expanding into music, lifestyle, and fashion.
With original content, influencer campaigns, and innovative storytelling documentaries and series produced by Sports.com Studios, SEGG Media aims to redefine how audiences connect with clubs, athletes, teams and leagues. This includes the acquisition and revitalization of trophy assets like football clubs and race teams, unlocking their value through smart structuring, media exposure and global fan penetration.
The Turnaround Journey
Over the last 24 months, SEGG Media has:
- Stabilized operations and balance sheet integrity
- Appointed world-class leadership and advisors
- Expanded into new verticals with asset-backed acquisitions
- Secured a $300M equity line of credit
The rebrand and restructure represent the final act of the turnaround — and the opening act of a global growth story.
“This is a generational moment. SEGG Media isn’t just the end of a chapter — it’s the birth of a next-generation business,” said Matthew McGahan, Chairman of SEGG Media Corporation. “We’re ready to compete with giants, with sharper tech, a youthful fan base and ethical values at the core. To every shareholder who stood with us — thank you. The turnaround is complete. The mission begins now.”
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