Lifetime sports betting handle in Indiana has passed the $1 billion mark.
Indiana brought in $70 million worth of wagers in July, which is a huge step in the right direction.
The state was under the $30 million mark during June, so July’s double production is encouraging.
Indiana’s July 2020 sports betting numbers
Here’s a look at Indiana’s July 2020 sports betting numbers:
| Licensee | Online Brand(s) | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Gross Revenue | State Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ameristar East Chicago | DraftKings | theScore | $34,022,029 | $32,863,948 | $1,158,081 | $2,438,361 | $291,923 |
| Blue Chip | FanDuel | $24,468,974 | $24,222,577 | $246,397 | $1,177,635 | $239,430 |
| Hollywood Lawrenceburg | PointsBet | $3,789,448 | $1,103,867 | $2,685,581 | $535,307 | $43,392 |
| Belterra | BetMGM | $3,647,366 | $3,522,336 | $125,030 | $423,888 | $39,033 |
| French Lick | BetRivers | $2,702,634 | $2,668,898 | $33,736 | $199,349 | $18,776 |
| Horseshoe Hammond | Caesars | Unibet | $903,626 | $145,997 | $757,628 | $42,066 | $0 |
| Caesars Southern Indiana | $420,658 | $0 | $420,658 | $41,790 | $0 | |
| Harrah's Hoosier Park | $324,042 | $0 | $324,042 | $79,755 | $0 | |
| Tropicana Evansville | $292,118 | $0 | $292,118 | -$74,479 | $0 | |
| Indiana Grand | $234,605 | $0 | $234,605 | $20,980 | $12,024 | |
| Rising Star | BetAmerica | $71,123 | $18,297 | $52,826 | $862 | $0 |
| Total | $70,876,622 | $64,545,922 | $6,330,700 | $4,885,514 | $644,578 |
Pandemic slows progress to $1 billion handle
It’s been a slow crawl toward the $1 billion mark thanks to COVID-19.
Indiana’s handle was on track to soar well past its first billion this spring. At the rate things were going, that would’ve been a mortal lock.
In February alone, Indiana took in over $187 million in wagers, and a billion comes quickly when you’re moving at that rate.
But when the health crisis flipped everything on its head, that progress stopped in its tracks. Here are handles from the pandemic in the months that followed:
- March: $74 million
- April: $26 million
- May: $37 million
- June: $29 million
The handles from those four months add up to about $168.2 million.
In other words, the combined totals from March to June weren’t even as high as one typical month’s worth of betting. That $168 million was still nearly $20 million less than February’s haul.
Under normal circumstances, Indiana sports betting revenue could have passed the $1 billion handle mark in April.
Every state has missed out on big potential handles thanks to the situation, Indiana included.
Since March, the Hoosier State has lost out on over $700 million in potential wagers. Even with last month’s $70 million handle, the state’s typical July would have likely been at least $90 million higher.
All of that translates to about $3.5 million in lost tax revenue for the state since the pandemic started.
Regardless of the past few dry months, the market is finally starting to rebound. The return of major sports obviously plays a big role in that.
NBA, MLB and NHL betting lead the way
Sports are finally back after grinding to a halt in March.
MLB was the first of the major sports leagues to get back into action. Opening day was July 23, and the sport has been racking up bets in Indiana ever since.
Hoosiers bet $14.5 million on baseball during July, which was over seven times more than the sport’s $2 million worth of wagers in June.
Basketball betting also took a huge leap thanks to the NBA’s return.
June brought in $600,000 worth of basketball bets, which exploded up to $5.8 million in July.
The final part of the trio is NHL betting, since the Stanley Cup Playoffs are finally underway.
In Indiana, hockey’s betting numbers are lumped into the “other” category of sports on the state’s monthly revenue reports.
With sports on hiatus, that category has been filled with bets on table tennis and other obscure sports.
With the return of the NHL, that other category’s handle jumped up from $20.4 million to $33.4 million.
As the months go on, expect baseball and basketball betting to retake their spots on top of Indiana’s handle.
Baseball was only back for about a week in July, and the NBA only had two days worth of action. With both sports chugging ahead at full speed now, their handles should explode in August.
BetMGM beats out BetRivers
Ever since online sports betting started in Indiana back in October 2019, the same three Indiana betting apps have been the top dogs.
DraftKings has been the market leader, followed by FanDuel and then BetRivers.
However, that’s no longer the case.
After spending months at the No. 3 spot, BetRivers was outperformed by BetMGM in July.
The sportsbook launched in Indiana back in February, just a few weeks before the coronavirus shutdowns.
Without sports to bet on, BetMGM never really had a chance to carve out its own chunk of the state’s market. That’s finally starting to change.
In July, BetMGM brought in $3.5 million worth of wagers compared to BetRivers’ $2.7 million haul.
BetMGM is backed by MGM Resorts, which is a titan in the gambling world. That combined with the company’s level of brand recognition makes it no surprise that the sportsbook is performing well.
The competition for Indiana’s market is only getting more intense.
Unibet just launched in Indiana, and other sportsbooks like theScore Bet will be coming online soon.
BetRivers will have to continue to find new ways to compete if it wants to avoid falling further in the state’s standings.
