Can harness racing take advantage here?

Hall of Famer harness racing writer Dave Briggs writes for Play Illinois. Here is his most recent article that everyone involved in Illinois racing should pay attention to as the state is exploding with sports betting and it will run over into the race industry per purses and stakes racing that will overflow to stallions standing in the state, breeding farms, training centers and more.

The incredible growth of the Illinois sports betting industry continues unabated.

Illinois is now the second-biggest sports betting market in the United States, surpassing New Jersey. That’s based on figures for August released today by the Illinois Gaming Board.

The Prairie State racked up gross gaming revenue of nearly $565 million in August alone, $8 million more than New Jersey. New York led the nation with revenue of more than $877 million in August. Revenue figures for Illinois in August were up 9% from July.

Comparing year-over-year, August’s figures were up 41% in Illinois.

Most importantly for the citizens of Illinois, legal, regulated Illinois sportsbooks have produced nearly $175 million in tax revenue for state and local authorities since the industry launched in March 2020.

Through August this year, Illinois sportsbooks rank third in both revenue (nearly $453 million) behind New Jersey ($517 million) and New York (over $926 million).

In year-to-date total handle figures through August, Illinois ranks third in the nation with over $5.8 billion bet on sports, behind New Jersey ($7.7 billion) and New York ($11.5 billion).

To read the rest of the article, click here.

by Dave Briggs, for PlayIllinois.com