March “Gladness” for Indiana sportsbooks

Hoosier State bettors wager $316.7m, the state’s second-best month ever.

With the entire NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament being played inside its borders and attracting visitors eager to wager on their teams, Indiana had a sports betting version of March Madness.

Indiana sportsbooks handled $316.7m in bets in March, the second-highest month in the state’s history. The largest handle remains January 2021, when interest in the NFL Playoffs, which included the home state Indianapolis Colts, pushed wagering to $348.2m.

January’s big handle was followed by $273.9m in February. March’s figure represented an increase of 15.6% month-over-month.

Lifetime handle for Indiana now is $3.1 billion, state officials said.

“We expect to see high volume across most legal US markets in March, but Indiana’s circumstances were unique with March Madness played entirely in Indiana,” Jessica Welman, lead analyst at PlayIndiana, said in a statement.

According to Welman, it’s difficult to say exactly how much hosting March Madness boosted the handle.

“But March’s results were clearly fueled by a huge volume of NCAA Tournament games all in one place and by a number of fans who traveled to Indiana and then bet legally as they attended games,” Welman appraised, adding, “We may never see a betting event quite like that ever again.”

Indiana sportsbooks generated $26.4m in revenue in March 2021, up 55.4% from $17m in February.

The state’s books set a record with $29.3m in revenue in January.

The state collected $2.5m in taxes from March’s wagers.

Year-over-year, the handle in March 2021 jumped 323.3% from $74.8m in March 2020, when pandemic-related shutdowns cancelled the NCAA Tournament.

“What a difference a year makes, even if comparing this year to last year is apples and oranges,” noted Nicole Russo, analyst for PlayIndiana. “Beyond the shutdowns, so much has changed in Indiana’s landscape. Yet the state continues to fare well in large part because its regulatory framework has been fair and, unlike its neighbors in Illinois, consistent. That has created a resilient state industry able to withstand increased competition from neighboring states and a brutal pandemic.”

Michael Bartlett

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