Indiana has become the fifth state to reach the $5bn barrier in lifetime sports wagers, after the region’s sportsbooks shattered the state record for betting volume for the second consecutive month.
Online and retail entities drew $461.1m in October, overtaking September’s record of $355.4m by 29.7 per cent, due, in part, to the year’s first full month of NFL action. The month’s handle was also up 99.7 per cent from $230.9m in October 2020.
Bettors increased the pace of betting to $14.9m per day over the 31 days of October from $11.8m in September and $7.4m one year earlier.
However, despite these increases, gross revenue fell 16.4 per cent to $27.8m from the record of $33.3m set in September but rose 10.9 per cent from $25.1m in 2020. October’s win created $27.6m in taxable revenue, yielding $2.6m in state taxes.
Since launching in 2019, Indiana sportsbooks have generated $5.1bn in wagering, $412.5m in gross revenue, and $78.3m in tax revenue.
This sees Illinois join New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Illinois as the only states to generate a handle of more than $450m in a month, $5bn in lifetime legal sports betting, and $400m in lifetime gross revenue.
“Five full weekends of the NFL and college football, the opening of the NBA season, and baseball’s postseason gave sportsbooks a rare convergence of betting inventory in October,” said Jake Garza, an analyst for PlayIndiana.
“To surpass the previous record by so much shows an increasing base of bettors, too. It’s hard to imagine a better start to the football season than what has happened in the last two months.”
Online betting drew $411.9m in wagers, or 89.3 per cent of October’s total handle, with DraftKings leading the way with a $150.7m handle, up from $130.4m handle in September. Last month’s bets created $7.8m in gross receipts, up from $7.2m.
FanDuel was next in-line with $113.3m in online wagering, up from $77.2m in September, producing a state-best $9.2m in gross receipts.
Retail sportsbooks accepted $49.2m in wagering in October, up from $35.3m in September. Hollywood Lawrenceburg led the books with $15.6m in wagers, up from $11.5m in September.
Ameristar East Chicago was second with a $6.8m handle, ahead of Harrah’s Hoosier Park ($6.1m), Horseshoe Hammond ($5.9m), and Indiana Grand ($5.8m).
“New operators are still investing in Indiana, which is evidence that there is still significant upside in the state,” Garza added.
“The environment has changed significantly over the last two years, but Indiana continues to flourish even as its larger neighbours adopt sports betting.”
