Operator News

US – Indiana becomes fifth state to surpass $300m in sports bets

By Phil - 13 January 2021

Indiana became the fifth state in US history to surpass $300m in bets in a month in December, ending 2020 with four consecutive record months, more than $1.75bn in bets, and passing $2bn in lifetime wagers.

Indiana sportsbooks took in $313.1m in December, according to official reporting released Tuesday. December’s wagers were up 93.5 per cent from $161.8m in December 2019 and topped the record $251.4m set in November. December’s wagers generated $24.1m in adjusted gross operator revenue, nearly doubling the $12.1m set in December 2019. The month’s bets yielded $2.3m in state taxes.

“Nothing could have recouped the revenue losses from the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament and much of the baseball season,” said Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “But a lot went right this fall for sportsbooks, and it was on full display in December. The Indianapolis Colts, Notre Dame and Indiana football all continued to attract significant wagering. Then a full month of college basketball, which is more important in Indiana than most anywhere else, and the start of the NBA season added a year-end boost. The strong finish made it so that 2020 represented a big leap forward despite all the challenges.”

For the year, Indiana’s retail and online sportsbooks produced $1.8bn in bets. That includes $1.5bn in online wagering, $138.4m in gross operator revenue, $13.2m in state taxes. Since launching, Indiana’s sportsbooks have attracted $2.2bn in wagers.

“The first full year of operation for Indiana’s sports betting industry was anything but normal, but ultimately it managed to steady itself and end the year on a roll,” said Dustin Gouker, analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “The state faced a pandemic that shuttered retail sportsbooks, a shutdown of major sports for four months, and a record-setting sports betting launch in neighboring Illinois that siphoned off a key market for the state. But sportsbooks were creative in their perseverance, and it paid enormous dividends as the year went on.”

Online betting generated 84 per cent of December’s handle, or $263.1m. DraftKings/Ameristar Casino led with $112.7m in online bets and $5.1m in gross receipts.

Retail sportsbooks generated $50m in wagers, down from $51.2m in December 2019. Hollywood Lawrenceburg led retailers with a $12m handle.

“Online sports betting has buoyed the industry all year as a number of challenges have hit the retail market, especially the pandemic,” Welman said. “Indiana’s retail market will continue to be important, especially once the pandemic ends, but online betting will remain the vehicle of choice for sports bettors.”

Indiana is also working to legalise online casino gaming and poker. Online casino games are a more predictable revenue generator than sports betting. In Pennsylvania, gamblers bet $2.2bn on online casino games and poker in November, resulting in $59.8m in operator revenue, easily topping sports betting.

“The states where both are legal, online casinos games tend to dwarf sports betting in terms of both revenue and the money wagered,” Gouker said. “More is bet every month, and the win is more predictable with far fewer fluctuations from month to month. For a state like Indiana, such a dependable revenue source is unquestionably attractive.”