May’s numbers are out for Indiana sports betting, and the Hoosier State’s sportsbooks are now five-for-five on yearly betting volume declines.
Indiana online sportsbooks accepted $283.5 million in bets during May, down 11.8% month-over-month and 8.1% year-over-year.
However, a robust 11.8% hold resulted in $33.5 million in monthly revenue, showing gains of 14.3% MoM and 5% YoY. The industry average is around an 8% hold.
FanDuel, DraftKings grow their market share
The Indiana sports betting landscape has been dominated by two primary operators, FanDuel and DraftKings. Combined, the two accounted for 67% of the state’s market share, a mark they hadn’t reached since January.
FanDuel Sportsbook Indiana ($96.2 million) edged out DraftKings Indiana ($93.8 million) in total handle. FanDuel’s revenue lead was even more significant, at $13.3 million, versus DraftKings’ $10.7 million.
Both sportsbooks increased their YoY handles, by 4.6% and 7.1%, respectively. Year-over-year revenue grew by 5.6% and 39%, respectively.
The race for third went to BetMGM Sportsbook, which outperformed Caesars IN for the second straight month. Still, both sportsbooks saw sizable drops in their overall action.
BetMGM handled $26 million in wagers (-35.6% YoY) and reported $3.4 million in revenue (-21.9% YoY). Caesars’ handle was $22.7 million (-22.1% YoY) with $1.9 million in revenue (+2.9% YoY).
Other sportsbooks with handles above $5 million included:
- BetRivers: $8.5 million handle (-21.8% YoY); $701K revenue (+25.2% YoY)
- Barstool: $6.8 million handle (-32.3% YoY); $495K revenue (-51.4% YoY)
- Hard Rock: $5.3 million handle; $96K revenue (went live in Sep. 2022)
- PointsBet: $5.1 million handle (-12.6% YoY); $754K revenue (+27.3% YoY)
Parlay popularity grows
The Indiana Gaming Commission’s report shows total wagers for parlays and individual sports. Parlays remain separate since they can span multiple sports.
May’s data broke down the categories as follows:
- Parlay: $79.4 million handle (+2.9% YoY)
- Basketball: $72 million handle (-14.7% YoY)
- Baseball: $64.9 million handle (-6.1% YoY)
- Football: $2 million handle (-14.8% YoY)
- Other: $69 million handle (-10.7% YoY)
Of the listed verticals, only parlays grew year-over-year. Year to date, parlay wagers total $1.12 billion, up 2.5% YoY. Baseball wagers are also up for the year, totaling $376.7 million (+8.1% YoY).
Through five months, Basketball has the worst declines at -15.6% YoY, despite accounting for $1.06 billion in wagers. Handle for all other sports is $680.2 million for the year, down 3.9% YoY.
Looking at the summer ahead
Indiana’s 2023 sports betting declines have been expected due to its own maturity and neighboring markets, most recently Ohio, cutting into previously inflated numbers.
While this undoubtedly means less tax revenue for the state, it is neither good nor bad for Hoosiers, who still have access to a complete offering of sportsbooks.
Alarms needn’t sound: May’s handle fell perfectly in line with start-of-year projections from PlayIndiana. Revenue exceeded $30 million and outperformed expectations.
Unfortunately, the next two months will be the slowest all year for Indiana sports betting. Attention should steer toward outperforming projections rather than looking at absolute numbers, where July’s projected $206.6 million handle should mark a low point.
August will be slow, too, but football season will follow and bring hope for a solid finish to the year.
We might never see numbers like 2022 again. Still, Indiana was projected to be the 13th-largest sports betting market in the U.S. at the start of the year.
If it meets those projections, its sports betting economy will continue to hold its own.
