Indiana sportsbooks set another record this month, its third consecutive record, with more than $463m in wagers and producing a surge in revenue of nearly $50m.
According to PlayIndiana, this streak won’t be ending anytime soon, with college basketball joining football and the NBA in the winter sports mix. In November, online and retail sportsbooks generated $463.7m in wagers, up 84.4% from $251.4m in November 2020, according to official reporting released Friday.
“Indiana’s best months are typically when college basketball and the NBA are in full stride, and the NFL is still in play,” said Jake Garza, Analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “And with Purdue among the nation’s best and Indiana off to a good start, bettors are particularly incentivized this year to bet on college basketball.”
A significant portion of 2021’s wagering has come over the last three months, which has produced $92.9m in revenue on $1.3bn in wagers.
Indiana’s sportsbooks generated $419.2m in revenue on $3.4bn wagers so far this year, crossing the $3bn wagering mark for the first time. At the current pace, this could double the $1.8bn in wagers and $137.4m in revenue generated during 2020.
“Obviously, 2020 was an unusual year, but Indiana’s year-over-year growth has been staggering so far,” said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayIndiana.com.
“Historically, December and January have been the highest-volume months of the football season in the state. So, the best months are likely still ahead, too.”
Garza is hopeful that Indiana’s love of basketball with help this trend to continue.
“Basketball betting, both college and professional, is more important in Indiana than almost every other legal sports betting market in the US,” he said. “The state’s sportsbooks have weathered this before when Illinois and Michigan launched sports betting. Every time, Indiana has managed to thrive in spite of the loss of out-of-state bettors. Indiana’s market is more than capable of standing on its own.”
