How much did Illinois bettors lose on parlays?

On events completed in 2025, Illinois sportsbooks kept $892 million from parlay wagers (handle minus payouts, before taxes), out of $4.88 billion staked on parlays. From 2020 through August 2026 the total is about $3.45 billion.

What is the hold on parlays compared with other bets?

In 2025 the hold on parlays was 18.29% versus 5.19% on all non-parlay wagers combined — about 3.5 times higher.

Why do parlays have a higher hold?

The bookmaker’s margin compounds on every leg. If every leg is an independent, true 50/50 outcome priced at −110, the built-in edge is 16.98% on a 4-leg parlay and 20.75% on a 5-leg parlay; Illinois’s 18.29% parlay hold sits between the two. Real parlays mix different prices and correlated legs, and actual hold also depends on results and promotions, so this is an illustration, not a measurement of how many legs bettors played.

Where does the data come from?

From the Illinois Gaming Board’s public Sports Wagering Monthly Reports (Completed Events, Sport Detail Report), which split handle and payouts by sport and list parlays as their own category. We sum all licensees; no individual sportsbook is shown. The reports are generated at igbapps.illinois.gov/SportsReports_AEM.aspx.

Yes. You are welcome to quote or republish these figures, or download the CSV, with a link to this page as the source.

Illinois Parlay Data: $892M Lost on Parlays in 2025

Illinois Parlay Data: What Bettors Really Lose on Parlays

Illinois is one of the few states that reports sports betting results with parlays as their own category. We added up every licensee’s numbers from 2020 to August 2026.

Key findingsevents completed in 2025, all Illinois licensees combined

Parlays were 31.2% of the money wagered but 61.5% of what sportsbooks kept.
Sportsbooks kept 18.29% of parlay handle versus 5.19% on all other bets — about 3.5× as much.
Bettors lost $892 million on parlays in 2025, up from $260 million in 2021, the first full year of legal betting; about $3.45 billion from 2020 through August 2026.
For comparison, a 18.29% hold falls between the built-in edge of a 4-leg (16.98%) and a 5-leg (20.75%) parlay of independent 50/50 legs at −110.

Parlay share of handle vs share of what sportsbooks kept

* 2026 = January–August (latest month reported). 2020 = months after legal sports betting began.

Year by year

Year	Total handle	Parlay share of handle	Parlay hold	Non-parlay hold	Parlay losses	Parlay share of losses
2020	$1.87B	17.2%	15.51%	4.88%	$50M	39.8%
2021	$7.01B	21.6%	17.14%	4.82%	$260M	49.5%
2022	$9.74B	23.1%	18.83%	4.95%	$423M	53.3%
2023	$11.61B	28.0%	18.23%	4.89%	$593M	59.2%
2024	$14.01B	29.3%	17.25%	4.95%	$709M	59.1%
2025	$15.65B	31.2%	18.29%	5.19%	$892M	61.5%
2026 (Jan–Aug)	$9.56B	31.5%	17.21%	5.46%	$519M	59.2%

Year

Total handle

Parlay share of handle

Parlay hold

Non-parlay hold

Parlay losses

Parlay share of losses

2020

$1.87B

17.2%

15.51%

4.88%

$50M

39.8%

2021

$7.01B

21.6%

17.14%

4.82%

$260M

49.5%

2022

$9.74B

23.1%

18.83%

4.95%

$423M

53.3%

2023

$11.61B

28.0%

18.23%

4.89%

$593M

59.2%

2024

$14.01B

29.3%

17.25%

4.95%

$709M

59.1%

2025

$15.65B

31.2%

18.29%

5.19%

$892M

61.5%

2026 (Jan–Aug)

$9.56B

31.5%

17.21%

5.46%

$519M

59.2%

“Losses” = handle minus payouts on parlays (sportsbook gross win, before taxes). 2020 includes only the months after legal sports betting began in Illinois. Download the CSV (CC BY 4.0).

What the numbers show

Parlays are a minority of the money but a majority of the losses. In 2025 parlays made up 31.2% of handle, yet they produced 61.5% of sportsbook gross win.
A bigger cut of every dollar. Each dollar wagered on parlays lost about 3.5 times as much as a dollar wagered on everything else (18.29% vs 5.19%).
The share keeps rising. Parlays went from 21.6% of handle in 2021 to 31.2% in 2025, and were 31.5% in January–August 2026 (vs 29.9% in the same months of 2025).
It is consistent with the math. Each leg adds the bookmaker’s margin again. Our Parlay Reality Check shows the edge growing from 4.55% on a single −110 bet to 16.98% at 4 legs, assuming independent 50/50 legs. In every full year from 2021 to 2025, Illinois’s parlay hold was between the 4-leg (16.98%) and 5-leg (20.75%) figures.

Methodology

Source: Illinois Gaming Board, Sports Wagering Monthly Reports (generated at igbapps.illinois.gov) → “Completed Events” → “Sport Detail Report” (CSV), one file per year. Completed Events reports count wagers on events that finished in the period.
For each year we sum the statewide “Total” rows (in-person plus online) for every licensee. Parlays = the IGB categories Parlay, Motor Race Parlay and Other Event Parlay; “non-parlay” = every other category combined. IGB does not publish category definitions, so we do not label the rest as single bets. No individual sportsbook is reported.
Hold = (handle − payouts) ÷ handle. This gross win is close to, but not identical with, the adjusted gross receipts used for tax: for 2025 the IGB tax summary total was 1.7% higher than handle minus payouts. We do not use the reports’ “Wager Details” rows, whose meaning IGB does not define.
All figures are computed with exact arithmetic and rounded only for display; a second, independent implementation recomputes every number from the raw files before each build.
The −110 comparison is illustrative and assumes independent legs that are each a true 50/50 outcome. Real parlays mix prices and often correlated legs; realized hold also depends on game results, odds boosts and promotions. It does not measure how many legs Illinois bettors actually play.

Use this data

Journalists and researchers are welcome to quote or republish these figures with a link to this page. Questions or a custom cut (for example online only, or monthly): [email protected].

By the slipmath Editorial Team. 21+. Gambling can be addictive — get help.