NFL Draft Betting Does Little To Boost April’s $26 Million In Bets On Indiana Apps

The impact of COVID-19 continues to affect Indiana’s sports betting handle.

During April, the Hoosier State recorded a record-low handle of $26 million.

The lowest before was $34 million in September 2019, which marked the commencement of legal sports betting in the state. At the time, Indiana had no functioning online sportsbooks.

The state’s handle experienced significant decreases for two consecutive months, April being the second. In February, Indiana set a record with a handle of $185 million. However, it plummeted to $74 million in March, and declined even more in April.

The state’s handle fell by 65% between March and April, resulting in it reaching the $26 million mark.

However, the low figures are not surprising given that the country’s major sports leagues remain closed. This trend is likely to persist until sports activities return to normalcy.

Sports betting figures for Indiana in April 2020

This is a detailed analysis of Indiana’s sports betting handle for the month of April:

Licensee	Online Brand(s)	Total Handle	Online Handle	Retail Handle	Gross Revenue	State Tax
Ameristar East Chicago	DraftKings	$13,649,514	$13,649,514	$0	$908,322	$91,006
Blue Chip	FanDuel	$9,715,664	$9,715,664	$0	$558,155	$40,576
French Lick	BetRivers	$2,067,231	$2,067,231	$0	$116,284	$11,047
Hollywood Lawrenceburg	PointsBet	$449,638	$449,638	$0	-$4,768	$0
Belterra	BetMGM	$418,195	$418,195	$0	$48,043	$5,559
Rising Star	BetAmerica	$3,886	$3,886	$0	$3,519	$0
Horseshoe Hammond		$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Harrah’s Hoosier Park		$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Indiana Grand		$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Caesars Southern Indiana		$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Tropicana Evansville		$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Total		$26,304,128	$26,304,128	$0	$1,629,555	$148,189

In April, the only source of income for the casino industry was sports betting.

Online sports betting was the only revenue source for Indiana’s casino industry in April, as their physical casinos have been closed since mid-March.

Online casinos, which have compensated for the lack of retail revenue in other states, are not legally available in Indiana.

In April, the state’s sportsbooks generated approximately $1.5 million in adjusted gross revenue. This is a decrease from approximately $5.5 million in March, and $11 million in February.

To draw a comparison, the casino industry in Indiana averaged over $182 million in revenue for the month of April from 2015-2019. The potential for even greater success was present in April 2020, as it marked the first April since the initiation of sports betting in the state.

Clearly, this April was not a standard one for the casino industry. The closure of physical facilities for the whole month resulted in a minor revenue of $1.5 million, indicating that sports betting alone cannot sustain the industry.

This also implies that with sportsbooks receiving less money, the state will in turn receive less money from sports betting taxes.

The handle for April translated to $148,000 in tax revenue for Indiana, indicating a significant decline. In comparison, sports betting taxes exceeded $500,000 in March.

Nonetheless, March had an initial advantage over April. In the first half of March, major sports leagues were still active, allowing sportsbooks to receive regular traffic. This is a benefit that April did not have as both casinos and major sports leagues were shut down throughout the entire month.

During April, PointsBet and BetAmerica operated at a loss.

The Indiana sites of PointsBet and BetAmerica had a particularly difficult time in April, as neither was able to generate a profit for the entire month.

In April, PointsBet generated a handle of almost $450,000 but reported no revenue.

BetAmerica also found itself in a similar situation, with its modest $3,800 handle generating no revenue.

A cyberattack caused BetAmerica to go offline for a substantial part of April. This incident potentially destabilized the already unstable relationship the sportsbook had with Hoosiers.

Since its launch in Indiana in December, BetAmerica has been struggling. It has been one of the least successful operators in the state since its inception.

The product owned by Churchill Downs has only generated $2,700 in revenue during its initial months of operation in Indiana.

BetAmerica’s status in the state has definitely not been helped by COVID-19. However, with plans to be online throughout May, the sportsbook is undoubtedly aiming to use this period to bounce back.

The popularity of obscure sports continues to outpace others.

In the absence of usual spring sports like basketball and baseball for betting, sportsbooks have been resorting to innovative methods.

A multitude of new betting options revolving around less popular sports have been introduced since mid-March.

Table tennis has become one of the most popular sports for betting throughout the state, particularly at BetRivers.

However, it’s not the only new sport that has garnered increased popularity in betting.

In its monthly reports, the Indiana Gaming Commission delineates the state’s handle by sport. As the segments for basketball and other conventional sports saw a decline, the “other” category began to take the lead.

That category broadly groups everything that does not fall under football, basketball, baseball, or a parlay. It encompasses sports such as table tennis, plus emerging options like Belarusian soccer.

In both March and April, the category “other” was the most favored area for sports betting in Indiana. Hoosiers placed bets totaling around $20 million on these less-known sports in March, and their betting in April exceeded $21 million.

In comparison, the handle generated by the NFL Draft and football futures was only $1.3 million.

Around 80% of the sports betting handle in April was from bets on less popular sports such as table tennis.

In May, those “other” sports will probably be the most popular for betting once again.

The category’s numbers will only be boosted with the comeback of the UFC and NASCAR. Until the NFL, MLB, or NBA manage to restart, the “other” category will remain dominant.