Basketball Is Dominating Indiana Sports Betting in 2021

Posted on July 12, 2021

Basketball betting helped propel Indiana to $246 million worth of sports betting wagers in June.

That number was slightly down from May’s $254 million handle.

June was also the first full month of operation for Barstool Sportsbook and Betway. Those two betting apps helped push the lifetime revenue for Indiana sportsbooks over the $300 million mark.

Indiana June 2021 sports betting handle

June’s $246 million handle generated over $2.4 million worth of taxes for Indiana.

Here’s a quick breakdown of June’s numbers:

LicenseeOnline Brand(s)Total HandleOnline HandleRetail HandleRevenueState Tax
Ameristar East ChicagoDraftKings | theScore Bet$83,906,560$79,422,986$4,483,574$5,919,140$562,318
Blue ChipFanDuel$65,122,487$64,222,392$900,095$9,204,100$874,389
Hollywood LawrenceburgPointsBet | Barstool$34,083,533$25,049,518$9,034,015$1,751,544$166,397
BelterraBetMGM | Betway$29,782,549$29,277,103$505,446$3,256,307$309,349
Tropicana EvansvilleWilliam Hill$11,868,813$11,117,901$750,912$3,105,585$295,031
French LickBetRivers$7,264,510$6,927,250$337,260$643,018$61,087
Horseshoe HammondCaesars | Unibet$4,205,100$1,036,916$3,168,183$600,510$57,048
Indiana Grand$3,832,624$0$3,832,624$453,951$43,125
Harrah's Hoosier Park$3,295,726$0$3,295,726$250,795$23,826
Caesars Southern Indiana$1,527,817$0$1,527,817$114,818$10,908
Rising StarTwinSpires | WynnBet$1,431,951$1,355,597$76,354$179,615$17,063
Grand Total$246,321,671$218,409,664$27,912,006$25,479,383$2,420,541

Indiana sportsbooks profiting millions

Indiana’s sportsbooks stuffed their pockets with over $25 million worth of adjusted gross revenue during June alone. That haul put the industry as a whole over the $300 million mark.

Ameristar East Chicago has been the Hoosier State’s best-performing casino when it comes to sports betting.

Ameristar and its two online sportsbook partners have taken in over $1.6 billion worth of bets since 2019. That has led to over $114 million in revenue for the trio.

The casino works with DraftKings Indiana and theScore Bet IN, although the former is responsible for most of the group’s success.

DraftKings racked up a $75 million handle during June, which is enormous compared to theScore Bet’s $3.8 million performance.

Things aren’t going nearly as well at the bottom of the sports betting ladder.

Rising Star Casino and its two online partners have only taken $6.2 million worth of wagers since 2019. Rising Star’s lifetime sports betting revenue sits at $500,000.

Some of the newest sportsbooks in the state have outperformed Rising Star’s lifetime numbers in a single month.

First full month for Barstool Sportsbook

Barstool Sportsbook‘s first full month of operation in Indiana was a successful one.

The sportsbook took in over $10.4 million worth of wagers throughout June, making it the sixth-most popular sportsbook in the state.

That handle only translated to $33,000 worth of gross receipts for Penn National’s sports betting brand.

Barstool made its Indiana debut back on May 18, so it was only taking in bets for half of the month when the last set of numbers came out.

During those two weeks, the sportsbook racked up a $6.3 million handle. Project that over the course of an entire month, and the company was on track to take in over $12.6 million worth of wagers in May.

We can finally put that projection into context since June was the sportsbook’s first full month of operation.

With a $10.4 million June handle, Barstool fell a bit short of that initial projection.

Overall, Barstool vastly outperformed Betway, which also had its first full month of operating in June. The sportsbook’s $55,000 handle was the lowest in the entire state.

NBA Playoff betting helps Indiana

Once again, basketball was the most popular sport for betting throughout June.

Hoosiers wagered over $77 million on basketball last month, which easily beat out the other top sports.

  • Basketball: $77 million
  • Baseball: $60.4 million
  • Parlay: $58.8 million
  • Football: $1.5 million
  • Other: $52 million

Basketball has dominated Indiana’s betting landscape in 2021.

The last time that basketball wasn’t the top betting sport was December 2020, but football taking the top podium spot in the midst of the NFL season was no surprise.

Betting on college basketball was a big driver through the end of March Madness, and now the NBA is running the show.

With the NBA Finals taking place throughout July, there should be plenty of action to help keep the basketball wagers flowing.

Indiana sportsbooks brace for Olympics

The NBA Finals will end on July 22 at the latest, and the Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23.

Betting on the Olympics in Indiana is a brand-new option for gamblers. The Hoosier State didn’t have legal sports betting the last time the Olympics came around.

There are all sorts of Olympic events that you can bet on, but some of the more popular sports are off the table. Gymnastics is one of those.

Millions of fans will be tuning in to watch Simone Biles and company compete, but you won’t be able to bet on the team’s events.

That’s because sports like gymnastics use judges to determine the winner. Since judging is subjective, that makes sports that use it a no-go for legal sportsbooks.

However, you can bet on basketball at the Olympic Games.

USA Basketball’s roster is filled with NBA stars like Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard. Other teams like France, Spain, and Australia also feature tons of NBA talent.

That might be enough to peak the interest of Indiana gamblers looking to bet on hoops after the NBA Finals end.

The Olympics will run until Aug. 8, so Indiana online sportsbooks should have plenty of options for gamblers this month.

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Jake Garza

Jake Garza is a US Gambling Industry Analyst for Catena Media. He specializes in Midwest sports betting and casino content. Prior to covering the legal gambling industry, he spent time as a professional sports writer, reporting on teams such as the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers. Garza is currently working as a Managing Editor for PlayIndiana and PlayOhio, with previous stops at other well-known brands such as PlayIllinois and PlayMichigan. He has been covering the gambling industry since 2019, and currently works with a team of other journalists to provide comprehensive coverage of the legal U.S. gambling industry.

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