Tax revenue numbers show that legalized sports betting has been a huge hit during its first year in Illinois.

People wagered more than $1 billion on football, baseball, basketball and other sports during 2020. Most bets were placed online, and revenues may be poised to soar during 2021.

“I think we could see $4 billion this year,” said John Walsh, assistant general manager for Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney.

Walsh was in Crestwood Thursday to welcome guests to a new sportsbook entertainment venue. The venue shares a building with an off-track betting parlor that the horse racing enterprise has operated since 1989 at 13148 Rivercrest Drive.

Sports betting venture PointsBet is partners with the racetrack for the new Club Hawthorne sportsbook venue.