Indiana’s sports betting handle took an expected step back in July.
The state brought in $194 million worth of wagers throughout the month, which was down from June’s $246 million handle.
A drop like this is incredibly common during the summer. It’s a trend that could continue until the football season returns.
Despite the dip, it was still an important month for Indiana’s sports betting industry as a whole.
Indiana July 2021 sports betting handle
Indiana’s $194 million July handle translated to over $1.6 million in taxes, and over $17 million worth of revenue for the sportsbooks themselves.
No surprise here, but almost 90% of the state’s handle came from online sports betting. DraftKings led the way once again with over $60 million in bets.
| Licensee | Online Brand(s) | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Revenue | State Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ameristar East Chicago | DraftKings | theScore Bet | $66,630,479 | $63,587,961 | $3,042,519 | $5,167,421 | $490,923 |
| Blue Chip | FanDuel | $54,812,502 | $54,343,643 | $468,859 | $5,322,994 | $505,684 |
| Belterra | BetMGM | Betway | $25,879,817 | $25,594,936 | $284,882 | $2,213,978 | $210,337 |
| Hollywood Lawrenceburg | PointsBet | Barstool | $20,048,561 | $14,155,587 | $5,892,974 | $2,418,172 | $229,748 |
| Tropicana Evansville | William Hill | $8,515,185 | $7,908,956 | $606,230 | $241,766 | $30,476 |
| French Lick | BetRivers | $7,183,252 | $6,861,126 | $322,126 | $688,570 | $65,426 |
| Horseshoe Hammond | Caesars | Unibet | $3,240,547 | $852,852 | $2,387,695 | $243,086 | $34,956 |
| Indiana Grand | $2,981,025 | $0 | $2,981,025 | $299,775 | $28,494 | |
| Harrah's Hoosier Park | $2,748,622 | $0 | $2,748,622 | $340,030 | $32,236 | |
| Caesars Southern Indiana | $1,125,218 | $0 | $1,125,218 | $119,243 | $14,303 | |
| Rising Star | TwinSpires | WynnBet | $1,327,460 | $1,274,580 | $52,880 | $170,001 | $15,468 |
| Total | $194,492,669 | $174,579,640 | $19,913,029 | $17,225,036 | $1,658,052 |
Indiana sports betting handle dips
Fighting against the summer blues is a common struggle in every sports betting market around the country.
Take Iowa for example.
Iowa took in over $111 million worth of sports bets in June. That number dropped about 20% down to $88 million in July.
Indiana saw a similar decrease of about 21% last month.
Baseball season is in full swing, but it doesn’t exactly attract huge numbers like betting on the NFL does. Olympic betting numbers are in the same boat.
We don’t know exactly how much Hoosiers bet on the Olympics in July, since the events don’t have their own section on the gaming commission’s monthly reports. Most Olympic events fall into the “Other” category on those reports.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the most popular sports for betting during July:
- Football: $2.2 million
- Basketball: $26.7 million
- Baseball: $63.5 million
- Parlay: $45.3 million
- Other: $53.8 million
The big change here is that basketball was no longer the top sport. Up until now, it had been the most popular sport for gambling in Indiana during every month in 2021.
Hoosiers did have the NBA Finals to bet on last month, but baseball ultimately took the top podium spot in July.
Indiana betting reaches $4 billion mark
July’s $194 million handle put Indiana’s market over the hump for an important milestone.
Hoosiers have officially wagered over $4 billion on sports since betting began back in September 2019.
That’s translated to over $300 million of lifetime revenue for sports betting companies.
Reaching that first billion took Indiana until July 2020 to accomplish. Exactly a year later, the state crossed the $4 billion plateau.
In other words, Indiana gamblers have bet over $3 billion on sports in just the last 12 months. That’s an incredible pace, which just goes to show how much Hoosiers love betting on sports.
Indiana would have reached this milestone a long time ago if not for the pandemic grinding sports to a halt last year.
The state’s market should be ready to soar now that football season is right around the corner.
NFL betting returns
It’s not quite time for the NFL season yet, but preseason action will be getting underway this week.
That will be welcome news for fans hoping to place a bet on the Colts.
Indy has a trio of preseason games during August, and fans can wager on all of them.
The Colts don’t have their first regular season game until Sept. 12, but the state’s sportsbooks will happily take the extra preseason boost in the meantime.
Football is the most popular sport for gambling throughout the US, so its return could breathe some much-needed life into sports betting markets around the country.
The football calendar could put Indiana on pace to break its all-time betting record for a single month later this year. January 2021’s $348 million handle is the current record holder.
Beating that number won’t be easy, but Indiana’s market is still growing.
New sports betting apps are still planning to launch in the state, and fresh gamblers are joining the fun every month.
Toss a mountain’s worth of football wagers on top, and Indiana could be in for a record-breaking fall.
