Sportsbooks in Indiana are seeing booming business, and they have three local football teams to thank.
The Indianapolis Colts and the universities of Notre Dame and Indiana are having strong seasons, which analysts from PlayIndiana say is helping spur action.
November’s handle of $251.4m was the third straight monthly record, up from $230.9m in October. The handle figure represented a 71% jump from the same month one year earlier. In November 2019, bettors placed $147.3m in wagers.
Bettors placed $113.5m in wagers on football in November 2020, up 34% from the $84.7m placed the previous month, and a rise of 97% from November 2019 ($58m).
“There really isn’t any substitute in sports betting for a local team doing well, and Indiana is enjoying three at once,” Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayIndiana.com, said in a statement. “And with both college and NBA basketball returning, a sport that enjoys particular interest in Indiana compared with most other legal jurisdictions, December really sets up to be another jump forward.”
Adjusted gross revenue also set a record last month: $25.3m, an improvement of 20% from $21.1m in October, which had been the best month. November 2020 gross revenue was up 173% from November 2019, when books cleared $9.3m.
The state of Indiana collected $2.4m in taxes last month, as the Hoosier State has become the fifth-largest sports betting market, following New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Colorado is sixth.
The vast majority of sports betting in Indiana is done online – a trend that continued in November. The online handle was $213.7m, or 85% of bets placed, compared to 83.6% in October.
DraftKings had the biggest handle among operators with $95.2m in November, up from $90.5m in October. FanDuel was second with $64.2m in handle, up from $63.6m the previous month.
Retail sportsbooks reported $37.7m handle in November, down from $37.9m in October.
