Another big month for betting was the story in Indiana during the month of October. If college basketball manages to navigate the treacherous COVID waters, things are very much trending up for a huge end to 2020 in the Hoosier State.
The sports betting handle in Indiana was just under $231 million in October. The portion picked up by the state in tax revenue was just over $2 million.
With several states facing serious budget hits because of COVID-19 and the financial packages used to help its citizenry, Indiana once again showed states that are on the fence about sports betting or those that have recently joined the ranks about the potential and the windfall that legal wagering can provide.
The increase from September to October in betting handle was over $23 million and the year-over-year increase was just below 152% from October 2019. Back in October 2019, FanDuel was just launching and DraftKings held far and away the largest market share in the state.
DraftKings still holds the largest market share in the state with over $90 million from the Ameristar East Chicago property in the northwest part of Indiana. Even though Illinois has legalized sports betting, the rollout has been fairly slow and has not had a dramatic effect on Indiana’s revenues.
FanDuel raked in over $63.5 million in bets through its license with the Blue Chip Casino. They were an easy second place in the race.
Something really interesting is that Hollywood Lawrenceburg far and away had the most retail revenue with just under $11.5 million in bets placed at the actual sportsbook. It is worth noting that this property is only about a half hour from downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The Buckeye State has yet to approve sports betting, but the legislature is back in session and it could be at the top of the list.
Hollywood Lawrenceburg is a PointsBet Sportsbook. The operator only pulled in $7 million and change in online and mobile handle, but the retail book was the best in the state.
William Hill Indiana just recently launched mobile and online betting and brought in just below $150,000 in handle through the app, which isn’t bad for only having a few days at the tail end of the month.
BetMGM raked in just over $20 million in handle through its Belterra Casino license. Belterra also pulled in $858,645 in retail betting handle as another sportsbook close to the Ohio and Kentucky borders.
BetRivers had $7.8 million in wagers through the French Lick Resort license.
Caesars/Eldorado did well with the racinos, as Harrah’s Hoosier Park and Indiana Grand combined for over $8.6 million in handle between the two properties. Caesars books are going to be run by William Hill as part of the CET merger with Eldorado Resorts.
For a more detailed breakdown of all of the operators, check out the Indiana Gaming Commission October Revenue Report.
Football brought in $84.7 million in wagers. Parlay betting brought in over $61 million, as bettors continued to play those bets with high hold percentages that greatly favor the house. “Other” betting accounted for almost $46 million, which includes sports like golf, tennis, soccer, and UFC.
All in all, it was a great month for Indiana and the upcoming college basketball season would provide an even larger boost if games can be played.
