Published Last reviewed
Illinois Gambling Revenue and Statistics
Illinois recorded $2.234 billion in state-designated gaming-related revenue in fiscal year 2025, up 6.8% from fiscal year 2024. The rounded product figures were $871 million from video gaming, $789 million from Lottery transfers, $380 million from sports wagering, $186 million from casinos and $7 million from horse racing. The official total uses underlying values, excludes local-government revenue and is not handle, ticket sales, casino adjusted gross receipts or video-gaming net terminal income; those product measures use different bases and must not be added together.
Researched and edited by The Playbook USA Editorial Team from official Illinois legislative, regulator and audited financial records.
This is a source-led editorial comparison, not an audit, accounting opinion, legal opinion, tax filing guide, forecast or regulator review. No first-hand wagering or operator-testing claim is made.
Snapshot basis: latest complete official annual records available on July 27, 2026; product periods remain explicit below.
The one comparable statewide layer
Illinois State-Designated Gambling Revenue by Product — FY2025
These rounded Commission figures use one fiscal-year state-revenue basis. They answer how much was designated to Illinois state purposes in the report; they do not measure the same thing as wagers, sales, operator revenue or total state-plus-local tax.
| Product | FY2024 | FY2025 | Change | Comparable state layer | Do not read as |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois Lottery | $888 million | $789 million | −$99 million | State-fund transfers on the report’s cash/receipt basis. | Ticket sales, total operating revenue or the audited GAAP transfer. |
| Horse racing | $7 million | $7 million | Approximately flat after rounding | State-designated racing revenue on the report basis. | Pari-mutuel handle, local receipts or wagers on live Illinois races. |
| Casino gambling | $158 million | $186 million | +$28 million | State receipts/transfers shown by CGFA; local revenue is excluded. | Casino AGR, admissions or combined state-plus-local casino tax. |
| Video gaming | $848 million | $871 million | +$23 million | State share of VGT public revenue on the report basis. | Amount played, funds in, NWA, NTI or state-plus-local VGT tax. |
| Sports wagering | $190 million | $380 million | +$190 million | Tax and fee transfers to state purposes on the report basis. | Handle, payout, AGR or all state, per-wager and county components. |
| Total state-designated revenue | $2.091 billion | $2.234 billion | +$143 million · +6.8% | Official total from underlying values; displayed product amounts are rounded. | All gambling activity, operator revenue or state-plus-local tax. |
Source: Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, Wagering in Illinois: 2025 Update. Collection and receipt timing can differ from later product tables.
Period and scope decide the answer
Why Illinois Has Two Correct $2.2 Billion Totals
| Official total | Period | Amount | Included | Government layer | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CGFA state-designated layer | FY2025 · July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025 | $2.234 billion | Lottery, racing, casinos, VGT and sports wagering. | State-designated revenue; local-government revenue excluded. | A rounded cross-product Illinois state comparison. |
| IGB regulated-product tax layer | CY2025 · January 1–December 31, 2025 | $2,201,626,107 | Casinos, VGT and sports wagering; Lottery and racing excluded. | State tax $1,905,074,340 plus local tax/allocation $296,551,767. | Exact calendar-year tax from the three IGB verticals. |
Each vertical stays on its own basis
Finished-Year Illinois Gambling Metrics
Each row pairs a product’s operating activity with its public return for the stated reporting period. These figures describe different layers of the same product and do not form a combined total.
| Vertical | Closed period | Operating or activity measure | Public return | Comparison boundary | Controlling record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casino gambling | CY2025 | AGR $1,943,722,562; 15,560,865 admissions. | State plus local tax $529,225,759: state $408,178,068 and local $121,047,691. | AGR is not handle or a statutory statewide tax rate; casino schedules operate by licensee and game type. | IGB 2025 Annual Report |
| Video gaming | CY2025 | NTI $3,185,923,121; 8,861 establishments and 49,450 VGTs at year-end. | Total tax $1,115,064,259: state $955,055,071 and local $160,009,188. | NWA was $3,185,703,973; NWA and NTI differ and are not interchangeable. | IGB 2025 Annual Report |
| Sports wagering | CY2025 | AGR $1,476,523,893; do not derive hold from non-reconciling detailed handle and payout rows. | State AGR-based tax $479,643,314; separate per-wager tax $62,197,887; Cook County distributions are reported by sportsbook. | The per-wager component covers July–December 2025 and is already inside IGB’s combined state total. | IGB 2025 Annual Report |
| Illinois Lottery | FY2025 · different period from IGB/IRB rows | Ticket sales $3,755,733,000; total operating revenue $3,761,589,000; operating income $795,796,000. | Audited transfers $796,088,000: Common School Fund $783,873,000 and other state funds $12,215,000. | Transfers are net proceeds, not Lottery tax revenue; do not add sales, income and transfers. | Audited FY2025 Lottery statements |
| Pari-mutuel racing | CY2025 | Illinois-origin handle $441,065,617; only $13,709,373 was wagered on live Illinois racing. | Reported public receipts $10,154,725; displayed state $8,001,703 and local $2,153,023 components sum $1 higher; separately reported total taxes $7,136,697.79. | Public receipts include taxes, admissions, fees, surcharge, licensing and fines; total handle includes simulcasts and out-of-state races. | IRB 2025 Annual Report |
Words determine whether a comparison is valid
What the Revenue Labels Mean
- Handle / amount played
- Stakes placed before payouts. Sports and racing use handle; VGT reports amount played. It is activity, not operator revenue, public revenue or player loss.
- Ticket sales
- Lottery ticket purchases before prizes, retailer costs, operating costs and transfers. Sales are not operating income or state proceeds.
- Payouts / prizes
- Amounts returned or owed to players and claimants. They are not a tax, transfer or additional revenue stream to add to sales or handle.
- Adjusted gross receipts (AGR)
- A statutory casino or sports measure after specified winnings are deducted from receipts. Product statutes and accounting fields differ; there is no universal cross-product AGR.
- Net terminal income (NTI)
- Money put into VGTs minus credits paid to players. NTI is not amount played, funds in or the distinct IGB net-wagering-activity field.
- Tax / transfer / public receipt
- Government-facing flows. Tax collections, local allocations, cash transfers, audited accrual transfers and broader public receipts can use different timing and scope.
One basis across five fiscal years
Five-Year State-Designated Revenue Trend
The series below preserves CGFA’s rounded state-designated basis. It is useful for direction, not for comparison with IGB calendar-year state-plus-local tax.
| Fiscal year | State-designated revenue | Read with |
|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $1.358 billion | Same rounded CGFA series; no local-government revenue. |
| FY2022 | $1.895 billion | Same rounded CGFA series; product mix changed over time. |
| FY2023 | $1.992 billion | Same rounded CGFA series; not operator revenue. |
| FY2024 | $2.091 billion | Comparison base for the official FY2025 +6.8% change. |
| FY2025 | $2.234 billion | Latest complete value in the controlling CGFA report. |
Reopen the record that owns the number
Official Illinois Revenue Sources Checked
Annual and audited records control finished-year copy. Monthly portals are included for the next official update, not to manufacture an incomplete all-product total.
| Official source | Snapshot or cadence | What it controls here | Use boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| CGFA · Wagering in Illinois: 2025 Update | FY2025 annual synthesis; checked July 27, 2026. | Five-product state-designated layer, total, FY2024 comparison and five-year trend. | Rounded fiscal-year state layer; local revenue excluded and receipt timing can differ. |
| IGB · 2025 Annual Report | Final CY2025 regulator report. | Exact casino, VGT and sports operating/tax values and reconciled $2,201,626,107 total. | Three IGB verticals only; no Lottery or racing. |
| IGB · Casino Revenue Reports | Monthly portal; latest June 2026 when checked. | Next receipts, admissions and tax-allocation update by casino/month. | Do not replace the finished CY2025 row with one month. |
| IGB · Video Gaming Revenue Reports | Monthly portal; latest June 2026 when checked. | Next statewide, municipality and establishment VGT update. | Choose NTI, tax and geography fields explicitly; do not add overlapping measures. |
| IGB · Sports Wagering Revenue Reports | Monthly portal; latest May 2026 when checked; figures due after the revenue month. | Next handle, payout, AGR and tax update. | Sports can lag casino/VGT; do not assume equal latest months. |
| Auditor General · State Lottery Fund FY2025 Financial Audit | Audited FY2025; unmodified opinion. | Lottery sales, operating revenue, income and audited state-fund transfers. | Accrual/audited fiscal-year record; not IGB tax or a CY result. |
| Illinois Lottery · Sales, Expenses and Transfers | Monthly financial page; latest May 2026 when checked. | Next Lottery monthly sales, expense and estimated transfer report. | Monthly values are unaudited and annual transfers are reconciled after audit. |
| IRB · 2025 Annual Report | CY2025; submitted March 1, 2026. | Illinois-origin handle, live Illinois-race amount, public receipts and taxes. | Handle includes simulcasts/out-of-state races; public receipts are broader than tax. |
| IRB · Monthly Handle Reports | Monthly pari-mutuel drill-down. | Next on-track, intertrack, OTB and ADW handle update. | Keep bettor location, race location and commingled pools distinct. |
| Illinois metric and distribution statutes: casino VGT sports Lottery racing | Current law checked July 27, 2026. | Casino/sports AGR and VGT NTI definitions plus selected Lottery, racing and product distribution rules. | Definitions do not create one cross-product accounting measure. |
Keep the denominator and owner visible
Three Limits Before You Compare
There is no one additive revenue column
Handle, amount played and sales measure activity; AGR and NTI measure product-specific operator results; taxes, transfers and public receipts measure government-facing flows. Compare one defined layer and period only.
Period and accounting basis can change the figure
Fiscal year, calendar year, cash receipts, audited accrual statements, monthly filings and later revisions can all be correct for different questions. Preserve the exact label and reopen the controlling record.
Statistics do not prove legality, value or a future result
A revenue figure does not authorize a product, predict a wager, measure a player’s personal loss, calculate personal income tax or establish that a tax policy is good or bad. Use the owner page for that next question.
Keep the next question with its owner
Use the Illinois Page That Owns the Next Question
Six Illinois guides; each owns a different next action.
Changelog
— Initial publication.