PointsBet will be joining the sports betting party in the Hoosier State.
The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) added the online sportsbook to its list of approved licensees this morning.
Once it officially opens for business throughout the state, PointsBet will become the fifth online sportsbook in Indiana. The newcomer will operate in partnership with Lawrenceburg’s Hollywood Casino.
Indiana is joining Iowa and New Jersey as the third state where PointsBet is operational.
Increasing competition between Indiana sportsbooks
As more sportsbooks open their digital doors in Indiana, the market becomes more crowded.
PointsBet will be joining DraftKings, FanDuel, BetRivers, and BetAmerica in Indiana. With their competitors having a head start, the new kids on the block will be in an uphill battle for their own share of the Hoosier State’s handle.
Moreover, last week BetIndiana and BetMGM also received IGC approval to operate in the state. That brings the number of licensed sportsbooks to seven.
DraftKings has been the leader of the online pack in Indiana. The company pulled in over $66 million in wagers during the month of December alone. That’s a sizable lead over FanDuel’s second-best $35 million in handle.
DraftKings’ dominance is partly due to how quickly they were able to open for business in Indiana. Along with BetRivers, the company was the first mobile sportsbooks to come online in the state back in early October.
Indiana not requiring in-person registration for online betting has also made the signup process easy and convenient for Indiana bettors. That’s helped spur the explosion of the industry in Indiana since its launch.
That hot start has benefited sportsbooks like DraftKings. Now PointsBet is ready to get in on the action.
Although DraftKings’ foothold is likely secure for the time being, as PointsBet and other future competitors enter the fray, that lead will become increasingly difficult to hold onto.
What to expect from PointsBet’s Indiana launch
PointsBet was originally hoping to have the platform launch in Indiana before Super Bowl Sunday. However, with less than a week to go until the big game that goal is likely out of reach.
Even with approval from the IGC, coming online is a process that takes some time.
BetAmerica, the most recent of Indiana’s online sportsbooks to enter the market, received approval for their Temporary Vendor License back in September. Despite being approved in the fall, they were unable to open for online bets until the end of December.
That’s a decent amount of time between approval and launch and PointsBet could find itself in a similar spot.
Indiana’s neighbors have been slow to implement legal sports betting, providing an opportunity for Indiana’s sportsbooks to pull in business from those bordering states.
Eventually, that opportunity will end as more of those states put their own sports betting systems in place.
Although PointsBet doesn’t have an exact launch date for their online services, it’s safe to say they’ll be trying to come to market as soon as possible to take advantage of that window while it’s still open.
