- Illinois’ 11 casinos combined to generate a total of $1.348 billion in revenues during 2022 which is just less than 1% lower than its pre-pandemic level.
- Rivers Casino Des Plaines was the top-performing casino in 2022 with $528.7 million in revenues.
- More growth is expected this year with 5 new casinos expected to open and one temporary casino relocating to a bigger permanent location.
Revenue from Illinois casinos is almost back to its pre-pandemic levels.
Illinois casino revenue nears pre-pandemic levels with $1.34B in 2022 https://t.co/NY91VAHMqo
— Yogonet Gaming News (@YogonetNews) January 17, 2023
According to a report from the Illinois Gaming Board, the state’s 11 casinos posted a total of $1.348 billion in adjusted gaming revenues for 2022, which is just 0.4% below the market’s pre-pandemic total of $1.354 billion in 2019.
Rivers Casino in Des Plaines was the top-performing casino in the state last year with $528,738,490 in revenue. Grand Victoria Casino Elgin ranked second with $154,4429,261 while Harrah’s Joliet Casino and Hotel came in third with $135,174,681. The two Hollywood casinos in Aurora and Joliet completed the Top 5 with $99,437,928 and $87,084,422, respectively.
DraftKings at Casino Queen was 6th in 2022 with a revenue of $79,537,598 and was followed by Harrah’s Metropolis Casino at $62,803,541. Par-A-Dice casino ranked 8th with $60,704,160 while Hard Rock Rockford was third from the bottom with $54,747,268. Bally’s Quad Cities Casino Hotel was 10th with $54,551,196 while Argosy Casino Alton completed the list with $31,433,958.
Illinois Casino Industry Bouncing Back
The numbers show that the industry continues to bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Illinois casinos were shut down from March 16 to June 30, 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and that caused a massive 73% drop in revenues versus the previous year. In 2021, Illinois casinos posted $1.187 billion in total revenues, and this year, they topped that performance by doing 14% better.
With revenues increasing in 2022, so did the total amount of taxes remitted to the state and local governments. According to the IGB, 2022 taxes rose by 307% compared to 2020 and was up by 16% versus 2021.
The state received a total of $290 million worth of taxes while local government units took in $76.5 million or an aggregate of 366.5 million for 2022. Although the local tax figures in 2022 were close to their 2019 counterpart, pre-pandemic state taxes added up to more than $377 million, which brought the state’s overall tax total to $455 million in 2019.
Likewise, the number of casino visitors in 2022 also increased to over 9 million in 2022, which is up from 7.6 million in 2021 and a huge increase from the 2020s of 2.4 million. The 2022 number is still, however, below the 2019 total of 10 million.
More Growth Expected in 2023
More Growth is even expected this year as the Prairie State is expected to welcome five new casinos and the conversion of a temporary gaming facility to a permanent site. Once all these gaming facilities go live, the state’s total number of casinos will increase to 16.
Waukegan’s The Temporary by American Place Casino is expected to open later this month while Golden Nugget Danville and the temporary Bally’s Chicago in Medinah Temple are expected to launch in March and June, respectively.
Meanwhile, Walkers Bluff Casino Resort in Williamson County is scheduled to open later this year. Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino on the border between Homewood and East Hazel Crest is also slated to open in 2023. On the other hand, the permanent Hard Rock Casino in Rockford is expected to launch in November, replacing the interim betting facility.
Racinos are also coming to the Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero, IL, and the FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing in Fairmont, IL, close to St. Louis.
