Indiana sportsbooks narrowly set a third consecutive monthly betting record with more than $463m in wagers, producing a surge in revenue of nearly $50m during November.
The good times for sportsbooks won’t end anytime soon with college basketball joining football and the NBA in the winter sports mix, according to PlayIndiana, which tracks the state’s gaming industry.
November saw online and retail sportsbooks generate $463.7m in wagers, up 84.4% from $251.4m in November 2020. The month’s handle even topped October’s $461.1m handle, which was buoyed by five full weekends of college football and the NFL. Bettors hastened the pace of betting to $15.5m per day over the 30 days of November from $14.9m per day over the 31 days in October.
Jake Garza, an analyst for PlayIndiana.com, commented: “Basketball betting, both college and professional, is more important in Indiana than almost every other legal sports betting market in the US.
“Indiana’s best months are typically when college basketball and the NBA are in full stride, and the NFL is still in play. And with Purdue among the nation’s best and Indiana off to a good start, bettors are particularly incentivized this year to bet on college basketball.”
November’s gross revenue surged to $47.1m, obliterating the former record $33.3m set in September. Revenue was up 86.7% from $25.3m in November 2020 and up 71.2% from $27.8m in October. November’s win created a record $47.7m in taxable revenue, too. And that yielded $4.5m in state taxes, also a new highwater mark for the state.
Indiana’s sportsbooks have now generated $419.2m in revenue on $3.4bn wagers so far this year, crossing the $3bn wagering mark for the first time. In fact, this year sportsbooks are on pace to more than double the $1.8bn in wagers and $137.4m in revenue sportsbooks generated in all of 2020.
A significant portion of 2021’s wagering has come over the last three months, which has produced $92.9m in revenue on $1.3bn in wagers.
“Obviously, 2020 was an unusual year, but Indiana’s year-over-year growth has been staggering so far,” said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayIndiana.com.
“Historically, December and January have been the highest-volume months of the football season in the state. So, the best months are likely still ahead, too.”
Online betting accounted for $422.9m, or 91.2%, of November’s handle. Retail betting accounted for the remaining $40.8m.
DraftKings topped all online operators in the state by handling $166.2m in bets, up from $150.7m in October. The month’s wagers produced $12.6m in gross receipts, up from $7.8m in October. FanDuel was second in the state with $109.8m in online wagering, down from $113.3m in October. Those bets still led to a state-best $15.6m in gross receipts, up from $9.2m in October.
Hollywood Lawrenceburg led Indiana’s retail books with $12.7m in wagers. That was down from $15.6m in October. Ameristar East Chicago was second with a $6.3m handle, ahead of Indiana Grand ($5.1m), Harrah’s Hoosier Park ($4.8m), and Horseshoe Hammond ($4.1m).
Hollywood Lawrenceburg has become one of the top-grossing retail sportsbooks in the US in large part because of its proximity to Cincinnati. But as Ohio nears legalization, Indiana’s online and retail casinos may soon not be able to count on their eastern neighbors to boost wagering.
“The state’s sportsbooks have weathered this before when Illinois and Michigan launched sports betting,” Garza said. “Every time, Indiana has managed to thrive in spite of the loss of out-of-state bettors. Indiana’s market is more than capable of standing on its own.”
