Indiana’s regulated sports betting market reported a 9.6% month-on-month rise in handle in February, breaking the record set in January thanks largely to continued online growth.
Amounts wagered in February rose to $187.2m, of which $145.9m – 77.9% – was staked via mobile apps and websites. After player winnings, revenue of $11.1m, down 13.7% from January 2020.
Looking at the breakdown of handle across sports, basketball proved the most popular in February, with amounts staked rising 50.8% to $90.2m, making it by far the most popular. While the Super Bowl took place on February 2, Indiana bettors still bet $11.6m on the sport, largely over those two days.
Parlay betting also provided popular, with wagers up 8.6% to $44.1m. A further $39.7m was wagered on other sports and events, in the month that saw the Academy Awards take place on February 9.
Leading the market for the month was Penn National Gaming’s Ameristar East Chicago venue, thanks to its DraftKings-powered online offering. This mobile offering alone accounted for $74.1m of handle, up 12.3%, with a further $5.9m coming from the venue’s retail sportsbook. After adjustments, Ameristar contributed $6.0m of taxable revenue to the state total.
This set it comfortably ahead of Boyd Gaming’s Blue Chip Casino, which hosts FanDuel under its license. Blue Chip’s online revenue grew 28.9% to $63.8m, while retail handle at the venue amounted to $2.1m, resulting in revenue of $2.1m.
Coming in third in terms of handle and revenue was Caesars Entertainment’s Horseshoe Hammond, which is yet to launch its online offering. From retail alone, it attracted $12.4m in bets, resulting in revenue of $1.1m.
BetRivers, the Rush Street sportsbook that was the first online sportsbook to go live in the market in October 2019, attracted bets of $7.7m, down marginally month-over-month, with a further $387,656 in retail stakes placed, from which it generated revenue of $375,898, down 37.8%.
Meanwhile Churchill Downs’ BetAmerica sportsbook, launched via the Rising Star Casino in January, saw revenue more than double to $212,953. However, despite retail betting revenue of $11,732 (from stakes of $123,393), the operator lost more than it brought in, which meant it did not post any revenue for the month.
February also saw Roar Digital roll out its BetMGM online sportsbook, under the license awarded to Boyd Gaming’s Belterra. It launched at the very end of the month, yet still attracted bets of $70,061, compared to retail stakes of $864,230 for the full month. Revenue for the property amounted to $34,179, down 39.6%.