Indiana started off the year with a new sports betting record. Hoosiers wagered over $500 million on sports during January.
The previous record-holder was November 2021’s $463 million handle. Four of the last five months have been records for Indiana’s market.
The NFL playoffs were the star of the show last month, as the postseason action helped generate more than $118 million worth of football bets.
Indiana January 2022 sports betting handle
No surprise here, but the vast majority of January’s bets were placed online. DraftKings led the way with nearly $160 million in wagers.
| Licensee | Online Brand(s) | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ameristar East Chicago | DraftKings | theScore Bet | $168,896,381 | $10,326,694 | 6.1% | $1,060,673 |
| Blue Chip | FanDuel | $127,247,298 | $7,704,395 | 6.1% | $1,158,221 |
| Harrah's Hoosier Park | Caesars | $56,357,127 | $1,711,738 | 3.0% | $162,615 |
| Belterra | BetMGM | Betway | $55,466,512 | $5,055,095 | 9.1% | $474,224 |
| Hollywood Lawrenceburg | PointsBet | Barstool | $48,079,629 | $1,123,184 | 2.3% | $181,759 |
| French Lick | BetRivers | $17,510,095 | $833,918 | 4.8% | $87,480 |
| Horseshoe Hammond | Unibet | $7,673,010 | $591,928 | 7.7% | $58,798 |
| Rising Star | WynnBet | TwinSpires | $5,213,115 | $382,324 | 7.3% | $37,034 |
| Winners Circle Clarksville | $4,156,651 | $515,296 | 12.4% | $56,646 | |
| Caesars Southern Indiana | $3,520,145 | $515,381 | 14.6% | $52,020 | |
| Winners Circle Indianapolis | $1,966,030 | $86,874 | 4.4% | $8,253 | |
| Bally's Evansville | Bally Bet | $1,888,699 | $139,670 | 7.4% | $14,110 |
| Indiana Grand | $1,105,913 | $190,136 | 17.2% | $18,063 | |
| Winners Circle New Haven | $1,058,043 | $101,543 | 9.6% | $9,666 | |
| Total | $500,138,648 | $29,278,177 | 5.9% | $3,379,560 |
Sportsbooks start off the year strong
January’s handle has Indiana sports betting coming hot out of the gates in 2022.
That $500 million worth of bets translated to over $3.3 million worth of taxes for the state of Indiana, and $29.3 million worth of revenue for the sportsbooks themselves.
Those numbers were large enough to push Indiana over the hump for a pair of significant milestones.
First and foremost, January’s handle was massive for Indiana. Last month was the first time that Indiana gamblers have ever wagered $500 million in a single month.
The Hoosier State is also past the half-billion-dollar mark for lifetime sports betting revenue. In other words, Indiana’s gambling companies are making money hand over fist.
Football and Basketball led January sports betting
Football is the most popular sport for gambling around the US. However, Indiana’s love for basketball helps power the state’s market in a unique way.
Basketball was the most popular option for January sports betting, but football did more than its fair share of the work for Indiana’s sportsbooks.
After all, the NFL playoffs only come around once a year. Gamblers were eager to bet on the games, even with the Indianapolis Colts out of the action.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what Hoosiers were betting on last month:
- Football: $118.3 million
- Basketball: $192.4 million
- Baseball: $24,000
- Parlay: $122.6 million
- Other: $65 million
Super Bowl betting will help February’s numbers
Looking at what’s ahead for Indiana’s sports betting market, the Super Bowl will be the biggest numbers driver for the state in February.
The big game is the largest single sports betting event of the year. Plenty of Hoosiers around the state will be wagering on the action.
Indiana doesn’t release specific numbers for individual events, but we can still get a good feel for how popular Indiana Super Bowl betting was last year.
Hoosiers wagered $18.7 million on football during February 2021. Since the Super Bowl was the only game taking place that month, it’s safe to say that the vast majority of those bets were on the big game.
However, Indiana’s market has grown significantly since this time last year. Because of that, the 2022 Super Bowl could attract even more wagers.
Indiana’s January sports betting handle was only $347 million in 2021, so the latest batch of numbers is a 44% increase from the same stretch last year.
Hoosiers are betting more money on sports in general, which will likely lead to an increase in Super Bowl betting as well.
January will likely be the final month of powerhouse numbers until the NFL returns next fall. Basketball struggles to carry the load on its own while football is in its offseason.
