Indiana sports betting bounces back in March

Indiana sports betting handle was up month-on-month in March, thanks to a busy pro basketball schedule and the start of the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Operators in the state took in a combined $476.8 million in bets during the month, according to the latest monthly revenue report published by the Indiana Gaming Commission. The figure was up by 16.5% when compared to the $409.1 million reported in February, and it was also 50.6% higher than the $316.7 million staked in March 2021.

Like in previous months, mobile sportsbooks handled an overwhelming majority of the bets placed by Hoosiers in March. The sector reported $446.7 million in wagers for the month, which represents 93.7% of the state’s overall handle.

Compared to February’s $385.5 million, last month’s internet handle was up by 15.9% month-on-month. The figure also showed an increase of 55.8% year-on-year from the $286.8 million reported by online licensees in March 2021.

The state’s retail sportsbooks, on the other hand, reported a combined $30.1 million in wagers for the month.

Sportsbook revenue up by 90% month-on-month

As the volume of wagers placed by Hosiers went up in March, the revenue posted by licensees also showed a massive increase month-on-month.

Operators across the state combined to post $32.3 million in gross wins for the month, up 90.3% from the $17.0 million won in February. The taxable revenue for March was also 22.3% higher than the $26.4 million generated in the same period last year.

$3.1 million of the revenue generated by the industry went to the state’s coffers, up from $1.6 million in February.

When it comes to statewide handle by sport, basketball was the most popular market for Indiana bettors in March. A total of $274.1 million was wagered on the sport during the month, up from $201.9 million in February. Those figures are largely down to March Madness, which is one of the most wagered-on sporting tournaments every year.

Parlay betting came a distant second with $121.3 million in wagers, an increase of 19.6% from $101.4 million in the previous month. Football betting accounted for $2 million of wagers, followed by baseball at $1.6 million. The combined handle for all other sports was $76.5 million.

FanDuel dethrones DraftKings as Indiana betting leader

The month of March also saw FanDuel rise to the helm of Indiana’s regulated sportsbook market, which has been dominated by DraftKings since October 2019.

The state launched its online sports betting industry on October 3, 2019, with BetRivers and DraftKings being the first to enter the market. FanDuel began taking mobile wagers from Hoosiers three weeks later.

FanDuel took $148.3 million in online wagers through March, up from $107.7 million in February. The operator also had the highest taxable hold for the month at $12.1 million.

DraftKings came a close second with $139.6 million in handle for the month, up from $121.5 million in February. The operator’s revenue, however, declined from $7.3 million in February to $7.0 million in March.

BetMGM took the third spot after handling $56.2 million in mobile wagers during the month, followed by Caesars with $54.9 million in handle. Penn National Gaming’s Barstool Sportsbook had the fifth-highest internet handle at $14.2 million, with BetRivers and PointsBet coming sixth and seventh, respectively. BetRivers’ mobile handle tallied $13.6 million, while Australian-based PointsBet handled $10.4 million in online bets during the month.

Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg maintained its lead in the retail sector after reporting $12.8 million in handle and $1.5 million in hold for the month. Ameristar Casino in East Chicago came second with $4.9 million in wagers and $476,151 in taxable wins.

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