The first day of mobile sports betting in Illinois following the Coronavirus shutdown saw almost two-thirds of the money wagered on Spanish soccer.
On Thursday, 17th June 2020 with the launch of legal, mobile sports betting in Illinois through Rivers Casino, overseas soccer matches drew 78% of the money wagered on BetRivers.com.
Although representatives for the Des Plaines gambling house failed to share the maiden handle or the complete number of wagers placed they revealed that approximately 60% of the Illinoisans who created accounts to place money down put at least a portion of their money on soccer.
The majority of that money – 56% – was wagered on La Liga Spanish football and Real Madrid’s winning match-up against Valencia.
The rest of the action saw bettors chip in about 17% of the handle on PGA Tour golf and 5% on Korean baseball.
As more sports return to the board following months of being shut down due to the pandemic, it is anticipated that the keen market for soccer (football) will even out. There are fluctuating levels of optimism for the NBA, NHL and MLB to negotiate deals with their respective players’ associations to return to action this summer.
After the launch in March of its retail sports-book was ruined due to the shutdown Rivers became the first of the seven licensed casinos in the state to offer online sports betting, a key market that draws the vast majority of the handle in other states where it is legal.
Approximately three-quarters of Rivers’ Day 1 bets were made from cellphones.