Indiana sportsbooks narrowly set a third consecutive monthly betting record with more than $463 million in wagers, producing a surge in revenue of nearly $50 million. The good times for sportsbooks won’t end anytime soon with college basketball joining football and the NBA in the winter sports mix, according to PlayIndiana, which tracks the state’s gaming industry.

“Basketball betting, both college and professional, is more important in Indiana than almost every other legal sports betting market in the U.S.,” said Jake Garza, an analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “Indiana’s best months are typically when college basketball and the NBA are in full stride, and the NFL is still in play. And with Purdue among the nation’s best and Indiana off to a good start, bettors are particularly incentivized this year to bet on college basketball.”

In November, online and retail sportsbooks generated $463.7 million in wagers, up 84.4% from $251.4 million in November 2020, according to official reporting released Friday. The month’s handle even topped October’s $461.1 million handle, which was buoyed by five full weekends of college football and the NFL. Bettors hastened the pace of betting to $15.5 million per day over the 30 days of November from $14.9 million per day over the 31 days in October.

November’s gross revenue surged to $47.1 million, obliterating the former record $33.3 million set in September. Revenue was up 86.7% from $25.3 million in November 2020 and up 71.2% from $27.8 million in October. November’s win created a record $47.7 million in taxable revenue, too. And that yielded $4.5 million in state taxes, also a new highwater mark for the state.

Indiana’s sportsbooks have now generated $419.2 million in revenue on $3.4 billion wagers so far this year, crossing the $3 billion wagering mark for the first time. In fact, this year sportsbooks are on pace to more than double the $1.8 billion in wagers and $137.4 million in revenue sportsbooks generated in all of 2020.

A significant portion of 2021’s wagering has come over the last three months, which has produced $92.9 million in revenue on $1.3 billion in wagers.

“Obviously, 2020 was an unusual year, but Indiana’s year-over-year growth has been staggering so far,” said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayIndiana.com. “Historically, December and January have been the highest-volume months of the football season in the state. So, the best months are likely still ahead, too.”

Online betting accounted for $422.9 million, or 91.2%, of November’s handle. Retail betting accounted for the remaining $40.8 million.

DraftKings topped all online operators in the state by handling $166.2 million in bets, up from $150.7 million in October. The month’s wagers produced $12.6 million in gross receipts, up from $7.8 million in October. FanDuel was second in the state with $109.8 million in online wagering, down from $113.3 million in October. Those bets still led to a state-best $15.6 million in gross receipts, up from $9.2 million in October.

Advertisement

The online leaders were followed by:

• BetMGM ($46.3 million handle, down from $47.7 million in September; $4.5 million win, up from $3.5 million).
• Caesars ($43.9 million handle, up from $40.2 million; $3.0 million win, up from $435,658)
• Barstool ($17.2 million handle, down from $21.7 million; $962,701 win, up from $689,883)
• BetRivers ($13.6 million handle, even with October; $1.0 million win, up from $767,393)
• PointsBet ($12.4 million handle, up from $12.2 million; $962,701 win, up from $819,702)
• Unibet ($4.3 million handle, up from $2.1 million; $325,267 win, up from $22,781 loss)
• WynnBet ($3.9 million handle, up from $4.1 million; $281,620 win, up from $278,764)
• TheScore Bet ($2.3 million handle, down from $3.2 million; $281,641 win, down from $622,447)
• Betway ($1.5 million handle, up from $1.3 million; $32,990 loss, down from $37,035)
• TwinSpires ($1.4 million handle, down from $1.9 million; $197,330 win, up from $180,188)

Hollywood Lawrenceburg led Indiana’s retail books with $12.7 million in wagers. That was down from $15.6 million in October. Ameristar East Chicago was second with a $6.3 million handle, ahead of Indiana Grand ($5.1 million), Harrah’s Hoosier Park ($4.8 million), and Horseshoe Hammond ($4.1 million).

Hollywood Lawrenceburg has become one of the top-grossing retail sportsbooks in the U.S. in large part because of its proximity to Cincinnati. But as Ohio nears legalization, Indiana’s online and retail casinos may soon not be able to count on their eastern neighbors to boost wagering.

“The state’s sportsbooks have weathered this before when Illinois and Michigan launched sports betting,” Garza said. “Every time, Indiana has managed to thrive in spite of the loss of out-of-state bettors. Indiana’s market is more than capable of standing on its own.”

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