Across the US, the return of the NFL season in the first week of September means a massive boost to sports betting and an end to summer slump. The same is true in Indiana.
After taking in $238 million in sports wagers in August, handle jumped all the way up to $404.1 million in September, a whopping 70% increase. That boost came after a 17% increase from July to August.
September’s taxable adjusted gross revenue was $41.1 million, which generated nearly $4 million in tax dollars for the state.
Total handle this month enjoyed a $20 million year-over-year increase, but the adjusted gross revenue was actually $10 million lower than the $51.2 million in September 2022.
Ameristar Casino still most popular IN sportsbook
With around a dozen Indiana sports betting operators active, Ameristar Casino again led the state not only in total wagers placed but also in adjusted gross revenue (AGR). The $171.2 million of wagers placed with Ameristar through its betting provider, DraftKings Indiana, was 79% higher than its handle in August.
Its AGR of $15.6 million was over 100% more than August’s $7.7 million.
As usual, online wagering by far led the way for Ameristar. In total, $169.2 million of the total handle came from online wagers, while just $2 million came from retail wagers.
The only other sports betting operator in Indiana to exceed a handle of $100 million and $10 million in AGR was Blue Chip Casino. Its sports betting partner is FanDuel Indiana. Blue Chip accumulated $124.8 million in handle and $15.1 million in taxable AGR.
There were nine other sportsbooks in Indiana to exceed $1 million in sports betting handle in September.
- Belterra Casino: $33.7 million total handle; $3.8 million AGR
- Harrah’s Hoosier Park: $29.5 million; $2.2 million
- Hollywood Lawrenceburg: $18.3 million; $1.7 million
- French Lick Resort: $11 million; $864,565
- Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana: $5.5 million; $503,219
- Horseshoe Indianapolis: $3.4 million; $499,470
- Horseshoe Hammond: $3.2 million; $474,576
- Caesars Southern Indiana: $1.9 million; $209,046
- Bally’s Evansville: $1.4 million; $214,559
Return of NFL boosts Indiana’s sports betting market
The start of the NFL regular season is the unofficial end to the slow summer months for sports betting revenue. During July and August, there are very few live sports to wager on. When the NFL resumes play in the first week of September, betting moves up drastically.
In September, $155.4 million was wagered on football. Parlay betting handle was $124.8 million, which certainly included NFL legs.
Together, $280.2 million was bet on parlay and NFL bets, nearly 70% of all bets placed.
Indiana receives $4 million in taxes in September
With the massive increase to sports betting handle and taxable AGR, the tax contributions from sports wagering also saw a sizable increase.
After $2.2 million in July and $2.23 million in August, September generated just under $4 million of tax dollars for the Hoosier State. Taxes collected in September were 90% more than the two previous months combined. Still, it was about $900,000 less than in September 2022.
Ameristar Casino led the way with $1.5 million of sports wagering tax contributed. At first it appeared that Blue Chip Casino was the leader in the tax category, but a reporting error led to Blue Chip paying $70,000 additional tax dollars by mistake. The correct amount will be reflected in October’s revenue report.
Here is how much the rest of the casinos in Indiana stacked up in tax contributions:
- Belterra Casino: $357,194
- Harrah’s Hoosier Park: $204,936
- Hollywood Lawrenceburg: $157,641
- French Lick Resort: $82,134
- Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana: $47,806
- Horseshoe Indianapolis: $47,450
- Horseshoe Hammond: $45,085
- Bally’s Evansville: $20,383
- Caesars Southern Indiana: $19,859
Indiana has a sports wagering tax of 9.5%, which is applied on taxable AGR for both retail and mobile sports betting.
