SPORTS BETTING

US – Indiana sportsbooks finish 2021 with $463m December

By Phil - 13 January 2022

Indiana’s online and retail sportsbooks closed the year with another busy month, producing more than $25m in revenue on more than $460m in wagering in December.

Though just short of the record handle reached in November, December’s brisk action capped a groundbreaking year in Indiana that produced nearly $4bn in bets.

“This fall has been so impressive for sportsbooks that it almost seems like anything other than a record month is a surprise,” said Jake Garza, an analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “In context, sportsbooks remained near all-time highs for wagering and revenue, continuing a remarkable four-month stretch in which wagering was up 73.8 per cent year over year.”

Indiana’s sportsbooks generated $463m in wagers in December, up 47.9 per cent from $313.1m in December 2020, according to official reporting released Wednesday. Wagering fell just short of the record $463.7m handle produced in November, as betting volume slowed to $14.9m per day over the 31 days of December from $15.5m per day in November.

Sportsbooks won $26m in December, up 18.2 per cent from $22m in December 2020 but well short of November’s record $47.1m. The month’s win produced $25.8m in taxable revenue, yielding $2.5m in state taxes.

December was the final chapter in an explosive year for Indiana’s sportsbooks. In 2021, Indiana sportsbooks generated $3.8bn in online and retail wagers, up 116.4 per cent from $1.8bn in 2020. That will likely place Indiana seventh in betting volume among legal sports betting jurisdictions in the US. This yielded $307.6m in gross revenue, up 125.5% over $136.4m in 2020 with $3.4bn in online wagers alone, up 132 per cent from $1.5bn in 2020.

“2021 should be remembered as the year in which people fully embraced online sports betting, especially after a tumultuous 2020,” said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayIndiana.com. “As impressive as the year was, though, the market is not done growing. Sportsbooks are still reaching new customers and operators are offering increasingly innovative products. Meanwhile, Hoosiers are becoming more comfortable with sports betting in general, and more open to less conventional forms of wagering such as in-game betting.”

Online wagering generated $422.8m, or 91.3 per cent, of December’s handle. The remaining $40.2m in wagers were made at the state’s retail sportsbooks.

DraftKings paced the state’s online market with $148.2m in bets in December, down from $166.2m in November. The sportsbook won $6.4m in gross receipts from those bets, down from $12.6m in November. FanDuel followed with $120.5m in online wagering, up from $109.8m in November. FanDuel topped all operators in gross receipts with $7.5m in gross receipts, down from $15.6m in November.

Hollywood Casino – Lawrenceburg was once again the state’s top retail sportsbook with $13.9m in wagers, up from $12.7m in November. Ameristar East Chicago followed with a $5.7m handle, ahead of Indiana Grand ($4.9m), Harrah’s Hoosier Park ($4.7m), and Horseshoe Hammond ($4.5 million).

“The biggest question for the year ahead for operators is what effect legalization in Ohio will have on Indiana’s sportsbooks, especially retail sportsbooks near the state border.” Garza said. “The Hoosier State has managed to expand even as sports betting in Illinois and Michigan have expanded, and should continue to flourish even with increased competition from another neighbor.”