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PlayIndiana.com: Indiana sportsbooks show resiliency with uptick in May

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Bettors at Indiana’s retail and online sportsbooks were more active in May compared to April, a welcome result after April’s month-over-month slowdown, even as May revenue slipped slightly. But even with the market advantages that helped spur the positive turn, Indiana’s sports betting industry will have to wait until football season kicks off before betting volume returns to the highwater marks hit earlier this year, according to PlayIndiana, which tracks the state’s gaming industry.

“Even with the expected slowdown over the last two months, no Midwestern state has held its ground better than Indiana,” said Nicole Russo, analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “Some of that can be attributed to local events driving interest, including the Indy 500. But the market’s structural advantages that were built in before sports betting launched is also paying dividends.”

Bettors placed $254.4 million in wagers in May at Indiana’s retail and online sportsbooks, according to official reporting released Friday. That is up 7.6% from $236.4 million in April, even as May’s handle remained well shy of the $316.7 million handle in March.

May’s bets produced $18.9 million in adjusted gross revenue, down 6.1% from $20.1 million in April and yielding $1.8 million in state taxes. Last month’s results are significantly improved over May 2020, when online retail and sportsbooks generated just $3.2 million in revenue on $37.3 million in bets.

A slowdown from April until the kickoff of football season is to be expected, but Indiana has some advantages over other legal markets in the U.S. during the slower months. For one, the Indianapolis 500 in May helped drive wagering in Indiana more than in most legal jurisdictions. Secondly, Indiana sportsbooks have been particularly aggressive in finding new ways to take advantage of opportunities, such as aggressive promotional offerings for the Indiana Pacers’ play-in tournament appearance. That helped push basketball betting to $82.4 million in May.

“In open and competitive betting markets such as Indiana, sportsbooks have significant incentive to find alternative events to fuel bettor interest even while the sports calendar is slower,” said Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “Whether that means heavy promotion of a Pacers play-in game or future innovations built around the upcoming Olympics, operators will do what they can to hold their market position. And ultimately, that’s good for the entire market.”

Online betting accounted for 89.8%, or $228.4 million, of the state’s handle, an increase from 88.4% in April. Retail sportsbooks generated the remaining $26 million in wagers, down from $27.3 million in April.

DraftKings narrowly held its grip on the online market lead with $81.8 million in online bets, up from $79.3 million in April. Those bets yield $2.9 million in gross receipts, down from $6.1 million in April. FanDuel was just behind with $79.3 million in bets, up from $67.1 million in April. Those bets were enough to lead the state with $7.6 million in gross receipts, up from $5.7 million.

Indiana’s online market got more competitive in May with Penn National’s launch of its Barstool-branded online sportsbook on May 18. In less than two weeks, bettors poured $6.3 million in wagers, yielding a $267,512 win. That represents the sixth-highest betting volume among Indiana operators.

“Barstool is the most anticipated launch since the opening few months of the market, and for good reason,” Welman said. “In states where Barstool operates, including Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan, Barstool has proven to be a market disruptor, even if it hasn’t overtaken the likes of FanDuel or DraftKings. May’s results are a small sample size, but there is enough to envision that a similar dynamic is building in Indiana.”

The leaders were followed by:

  • BetMGM ($29.3 million handle, down from $30.9 million in March; $2.5 million win, down from $3.1 million).
  • PointsBet ($11.3 million handle, up from $10.3 million; $1 million win, up from $794,476)
  • William Hill ($8.2 million handle, down from $8.5 million; $173,885 win, down from $378,830)
  • BetRivers/French Lick Resort ($6.8 million handle, down from $7.3 million; $438,229 win, up from $381,975)
  • TheScore ($2.9 million handle, down from $3.2 million; $125,729 win, down from $128,670)
  • Unibet ($1.3 million handle, down from $2 million; $83,089 win, up from $23,884)
  • TwinSpires ($504,680 handle, up from $158,702; $53,878 up from -$8,929)
  • WynnBet ($485,306 handle, down from $411,778; $56,074 win, up from $47,206)
  • Caesars (no handle; -$136 win)

On the retail side, Hollywood Lawrenceburg, nearest to Cincinnati, led the retail market again with $8.4 million in wagers, even with $8.4 million in April. Ameristar East Chicago was second with $4.4 million.

“The retail market is beginning to show new life as pandemic concerns wane,” Russo said. “Out-of-state bettors remain the lifeblood of the retail market. So long as Ohio and Kentucky resist legalizing sports betting, and pandemic-related restrictions don’t return, retail sportsbooks should continue to return to health.”

For more revenue information on Indiana sportsbooks, visit PlayIndiana.com/revenue.

eSports

HAWKS TALON GC SET FOR THE STEAL ON APRIL 19TH FOR CHANCE TO ENTER NBA 2K LEAGUE 3V3 PLAYOFF

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Hawks Talon GC, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, will begin play in the STEAL on Friday night against No. 14 Blazer5 Gaming at 7:30 p.m.

Talon collected 90 points over the SLAM and SWITCH, earning 60 points in the SLAM and 30 points in the SWITCH to earn the No. 3 seed heading into the STEAL.

Should Talon advance, they would play the winner of No. 6 Cavs Legion GC and No. 11 Hornets Venom GT on Saturday at 3:45 p.m., followed by the semifinals at 5:15 p.m., and the finals at 5:45 p.m. All games can be followed on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

“The STEAL is probably the toughest tournament in the 2K League, but the guys are locked in and ready to fight for their season,” said Hawks Talon head coach Ismael ‘MAELO’ Diaz Tolentino. “We are looking forward to going out there and proving that we belong amongst the best teams in the league. We were only a game away from clinching a playoff berth and we honestly think we are one of the teams to beat in this tournament.”

Talon owns a 4-4 record in bracket play thus far during the 2024 season over the SLAM and SWITCH opens, going 3-2 over the SLAM and 1-2 over the SWITCH.

The single elimination 3v3 tournament includes all 15 NBA 2K League teams that have not clinched a spot in the 3v3 playoffs, plus one community team from an open qualifier. The final two teams in the STEAL will earn a spot in the 3v3 playoffs beginning next week, with the winner receiving a winner-take-all cash prize.

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Plaza Hotel & Casino to celebrate summer with Friday night fireworks

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The Plaza Hotel & Casino will celebrate the start of every weekend this summer with a live fireworks show Friday nights at 9:15 p.m., beginning May 24 for Memorial Day weekend through Aug. 30 for Labor Day weekend.
Inspired by the fireworks shows at Disneyland, the Plaza’s Welcome to the Weekend Summer Friday Fireworks will light up the sky above downtown Las Vegas and be part of a festive summer block party atmosphere at the property’s Carousel Bar and rooftop pool deck.
“The Plaza is known for its great fireworks on New Year’s Eve and July 4th, but who says fireworks are only for those holidays?” said Jonathan Jossel, CEO of the Plaza Hotel & Casino. “This summer, we wanted to celebrate and give a gift to everyone downtown by sharing the excitement and fun of our fireworks shows with them every Friday night.”
“Las Vegas is the world’s destination because of all the spectacular attractions that are available here,” City of Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said. “The Plaza is adding a new weekly fireworks extravaganza this summer, and everyone is invited to visit downtown Las Vegas and enjoy the show!”
Derek Stevens, CEO and Owner of Circa Resort & Casino said “The weekly fireworks show will amp up Fremont Street’s high-energy atmosphere to a new level. It’s a terrific addition for the entire neighborhood, providing another exciting reason for visitors to come downtown. Huge thanks to Jonathan and the Plaza team for bringing this idea to life. We’ll definitely be enjoying the show every week from Circa’s rooftop lounge, Legacy Club.”
The fireworks shot from the Plaza’s towers will be visible to the thousands of tourists and locals in downtown Las Vegas as well as for miles beyond. Plaza hotel guests will be able to enjoy the fireworks from an exclusive viewing party on its rooftop pool deck where the fireworks will be “ignited” by a special guest pushing a detonator button on an oversized TNT box.
To attract even more people to stay downtown, the Plaza introduced the only all-inclusive hotel room package starting at $125 per person per night. The package includes bottomless drinks, breakfast and dinner, a free bingo session, waived resort fees, and more. Rooms must be booked online by June 30 for a stay June 1 through July 1.
The Friday night rooftop pool party for hotel guests will feature the Frozen Firecracker, a special red, white, and blue cocktail made with strawberry daiquiri, pina colada, and blue lemonade spiked with Don Q Rum. At Carousel Bar the summer party vibe continues every Friday night with a DJ and the specialty cocktail Watermelon Agua Fresca made with Mi Campo tequila, Jägermeister, rose aperitivo, watermelon juice, chamoy, and aloe leaves as a garnish.
“Downtown Las Vegas is already a vibrant, unique, and exciting destination. Our Summer Friday Fireworks paired with our all-inclusive room package and great summertime block party atmosphere at Carousel Bar and the rooftop pool deck will be even more reasons to come downtown this summer,” added Jossel.
The Plaza’s fireworks will be dependent on weather conditions and are subject to change or cancellation.

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Aviatrix and Vibra Solutions Agree Partnership with Focus on Latin America

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Aviatrix, the crash game that’s changing the way online casinos engage their players, has partnered with platform provider Vibra Solutions in yet another move that expands its reach in Latin America.

Aviatrix’s push into Latin America has really picked up pace over recent months and that continues with this deal.

Vibra Gaming has established itself as a major player in the region since it was founded in 2020 and later with the launch of Vibra Solutions in 2022, its platforms and content aggregation division. Now operators using its platform will be able to offer customers Aviatrix.

“We’ve long admired the fantastic work Vibra Solutions is doing in growing our industry across Latin America via innovative product development,” the Latin America Head of Business Development for Aviatrix, Gabriela Novello, said. “By working alongside it, we’re able to bring Aviatrix to more players in the region and together write a new chapter in this ongoing growth story.”

“Our commitment to our operator partners is to provide the very best portfolio of games available,” the Chief Commercial Officer for Vibra Solutions, Federico Saini, said. “Some of those we build ourselves but others we onboard via partnerships like this. Aviatrix is one of the most talked about games in the industry at the moment and we couldn’t be happier to be able to offer it to online brands via our platform.”

Aviatrix’s has enjoyed considerable success in Latin America since it was launched a little over a year ago including being named Rising Star in Casino at the SBC Awards LatinoAmerica.

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