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Indiana betting revenue tops $100m in first year

News

Indiana sportsbooks took in revenue of $9.8m in June, up 47.6% from July, as stakes hit $1.20bn and revenue exceeded $100m for the first 12 months of legal sports betting in the state.

The $9.8m in revenue came on handle of $169.0m, up 138.4% year-on-year, while operators paid wagering taxes of $934,314. All three figures were the highest totals since February, before the impact of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in the US.

Before adjustments, revenue came to $12.5m, of which $10.0m was online and the remaining $2.5m from retail. 

Online betting handle came to $143.9m, while retail made up the remaining $25.1m. Both the online handle and online revenue figures were records for the Hoosier state.

The return of the NBA on 30 July came as a major boost, as basketball led the way in handle with $55.2m, up 851.7%. 

With the 2020 Major League Baseball season returning on 23 July, baseball also saw a drastic handle increase, by 114.1% to $31.0m. Football handle, meanwhile, declined by 38.2% to $717,974 despite the approach of the NFL season.

Handle from other sports grew by 9.0% to $36.3m and the value of parlay bets grew by 180.2% to $43.6m.

The DraftKings sportsbook at Penn National Gaming’s Ameristar Casino brought in just under half of the state’s revenue at $4.9m after adjustments, on handle of $78.6m.

Blue Chip Casino’s FanDuel sportsbook brought in $2.3m on handle of $50.8m.

Penn’s Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg, where PointsBet operates sports betting and Belterra Casino’s BetMGM-branded sportsbook had by far their best months yet, bringing in revenue of $743,982 and $1.1m respectively. Players staked $11.7m at Lawrenceburg and $9.9m at Belterra. Lawrenceburg also saw the highest retail handle, at $6.9m, and retail revenue, at $854,022.

Also bringing in positive revenue after adjustments were French Lick Resort, with $337,084, and Caesars’ Harrah’s Hoosier Park, with $274,457.

Four other casinos – Caesars Southern Indiana, Horseshoe Hammond, Rising Star Casino and Tropicana Evansville – all took bets but revenue was wiped out by adjustments.

With Indiana’s regulated betting market opening on 1 September, 2019, sports betting has now been legal in the state for a full year. In the full year, betting handle came to $1.20bn while operators brought in $101.8m in revenue. Online handle came to $884.0m and retail $315.7m.

The Ameristar Casino brought in the most revenue for the year, at $43.7m on stakes of $508.0m.

The state took in $9.0m in sports wagering tax in the 12 months since betting was legalized.