Indiana continued to cement its status as the fourth-largest sports betting market in the United States with a record-setting January. Indiana bettors placed more than $170 million in wagers. Its an almost 10% jump from December’s take of almost $162 million.
The growth may seem moderate compared to some other states. However, when you consider that no new sportsbooks launched in the month of January, the uptick becomes more impressive. Online betting helped boost the numbers and, despite only four betting apps, online bets generated 72% of handle. That is up from just under 70% in December.
This betting activity produced over $12.8 million in revenue for the books and over $1.2 million in taxes for the state.
January 2020 Indiana sports betting numbers
Here is a look at how each casino fared with both retail and online sports betting last month:
| Licensee | Online Brand(s) | Total Handle | Online Handle | Retail Handle | Gross Revenue | State Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ameristar East Chicago | DraftKings | $73,037,356 | $65,993,539 | $7,043,817 | $6,014,079 | $571,461 |
| Blue Chip | FanDuel | $52,211,848 | $49,519,651 | $2,692,197 | $2,210,553 | $267,528 |
| Horseshoe Hammond | $13,705,355 | $0 | $13,705,355 | $1,803,809 | $171,452 | |
| French Lick | BetRivers | $8,303,667 | $7,770,033 | $533,634 | $604,310 | $57,412 |
| Hollywood Lawrenceburg | $7,736,943 | $0 | $7,736,943 | $578,993 | $50,304 | |
| Harrah's Hoosier Park | $5,428,810 | $0 | $5,428,810 | $321,786 | $30,958 | |
| Indiana Grand | $4,991,790 | $0 | $4,991,790 | $365,318 | $33,165 | |
| Caesars Southern Indiana | $2,395,735 | $0 | $2,395,735 | $143,966 | $15,268 | |
| Tropicana Evansville | $1,999,848 | $0 | $1,999,848 | $210,974 | $18,871 | |
| Belterra | $934,724 | $0 | $934,724 | $8,077 | $5,379 | |
| Rising Star | BetAmerica | $303,174 | $89,622 | $213,552 | -$38,643 | $0 |
| Total | $171,049,250 | $123,372,845 | $47,676,405 | $12,223,222 | $1,221,796 |
DraftKings, FanDuel, and the also-rans
Between DraftKings/Ameristar and FanDuel/Blue Chip, the two groups account for 73% of the market. What is surprising is that the next-biggest performers are not the other two online operators. The third-biggest performer was Horseshoe Hammond, near Chicago, which took $13.7 million in bets and generated an astonishing $1.8 million in revenue.
Meanwhile, French Lick and its online partner BetRivers did manage to accept over $8.3. million in wagers, but only produced around $600,000 in revenue. Hollywood Lawrenceburg, on the other hand, booked almost $530,000 in revenue off $7.7 million in bets at its Cincinnati-area retail sportsbook.
BetAmerica is no Rising Star
Sure, BetRivers is not competing on the same scale as the two big dogs yet. It could be a lot worse though. BetAmerica, which launched in late December posted some dismal results for its first full month of operation. After losing around $1,200 in December, the online book only produced $1,850 in revenue in January. The site managed fewer than $90,000 in bets in its first full month of operation.
The retail book at Rising Star Casino is not helping either. The brick and mortar sportsbook reported almost $41,000 in losses on just $213,552 in wagers. The property is not as close to Cincinnati proper as Hollywood Lawrenceburg, which might explain why the retail outlet struggles to bring in bettors.
Football numbers waned in the NFL postseason
Indiana is one of the only states that breaks down wagers by bet type, which provides some fascinating insight into the seasonal nature of sports betting.
The steep decline in football betting, from $59 million in December to just under $37 million in January, shows what a crucial role the gridiron plays for sportsbooks. What is interesting to note though is how much basketball is picking up the slack.
We are still in the relative doldrums of the NBA season, as they have yet to hit the All-Star break. College basketball, on the other hand, featured some marquee match-ups and the start of conference play in January.
Indiana is the absolute heart of college basketball country. With top-tier teams like Butler in the state, UK and Louisville fans just a bridge away, and several prominent basketball programs in the Cincinnati area, there are numerous dedicated fan bases eager to wager on their teams for the first time.
As such, basketball bets leaped from $33.6 million in November to $45.6 million in December to nearly $60 million in January. The Super Bowl will be the big story of the February revenue report, but it isn’t too early to start wondering how much Indiana March Madness will bring in compared to the NFL’s Big Game.
