Nearly Half Of February’s $187M In Wagers Were Placed On Basketball

The conclusion of the football season saw Super Bowl betting giving one final boost to Indiana’s sports handle.

Throughout February, bettors across the Hoosier State placed wagers exceeding $187 million. This represents a nearly 10% rise from January’s total of $171 million.

The college football season and the majority of NFL playoff games concluded in January, making the Super Bowl the sole significant wagering event for the sport in February.

Despite this, last month saw Hoosiers placing $12 million bets on football. Without the surge from the Super Bowl, the state’s handle would have seen less than a 3% growth from January to February.

The increase in the state’s revenue can be partially attributed to football. However, basketball, which was already Indiana’s most favored sport for betting, continues to see a rise in its handle on a month-to-month basis.

Hoosiers placed nearly $60 million worth of bets on basketball in January. This figure dramatically increased to over $90 million in February.

Betting activity in February generated more than $11 million in revenue for sportsbooks in Indiana, and contributed over $1 million in taxes to the state.

Sports Betting Figures for Indiana, February 2020

Here’s an overview of Indiana’s casinos and the sports betting figures they generated last month.

Licensee	Online Brand(s)	Total Handle	Online Handle	Retail Handle	Gross Revenue	State Tax
Ameristar East Chicago	DraftKings	$79,971,894	$74,110,276	$5,861,618	$6,047,650	$574,585
Blue Chip	FanDuel	$65,935,858	$63,833,235	$2,102,623	$2,665,685	$195,715
Horseshoe Hammond		$12,391,845	$0	$12,391,845	$52,445	$102,387
French Lick	BetRivers	$8,054,464	$7,666,808	$387,656	$375,884	$35,710
Hollywood Lawrenceburg		$6,803,081	$0	$6,803,081	$308,577	$43,947
Harrah’s Hoosier Park		$4,510,204	$0	$4,510,204	$301,764	$25,739
Indiana Grand		$4,469,396	$0	$4,469,396	$516,760	$49,131
Caesars Southern Indiana		$2,215,524	$0	$2,215,524	$16,774	$14,212
Tropicana Evansville		$1,563,318	$0	$1,563,318	$31,513	$9,137
Belterra	BetMGM	$934,291	$70,061	$864,230	$59,348	$3,247
Rising Star	BetAmerica	$336,347	$212,953	$123,393	$5,554	$0
Total		$187,186,221	$145,893,333	$41,292,888	$10,381,954	$1,053,811

78% of bets are attributable to online betting.

Online betting, as anticipated, remains the main catalyst for Indiana's market. Nearly $146 million was wagered online by punters across the state in February, making up a significant portion of Indiana’s handle.

Last month, approximately 78% of all bets in Indiana were made online, marking the highest percentage of online betting in the state so far. This is a significant increase from January’s 72%.

In the Hoosier state, DraftKings and FanDuel remain dominant. These two industry giants were responsible for approximately 95% of Indiana’s online bets in February.

Essentially, that’s outpacing the competition significantly.

The challenge of escalating the mountain is becoming even tougher for other sportsbooks in Indiana. The handle of BetRivers last month was virtually the same as its January total. In reality, it decreased by around $100,000.

BetAmerica’s handle did see an increase in its second complete month of operation, however, the sportsbook only managed to generate a total of $200,000.

In February, BetMGM was the sole sportsbook to make its debut in Indiana. Despite having only a few days since its launch on 25th February, the newcomer managed to draw in $70,000.

FanDuel is narrowing the gap with DraftKings.

FanDuel is working on narrowing the lead that DraftKings has held since sports betting began in the state.

In December, DraftKings earned over $40 million more than FanDuel. However, in January, the difference in their earnings decreased to approximately $16 million.

FanDuel managed to push things even further last month.

During February, DraftKings brought in only $11 million more than FanDuel.

If this trend persists, the two sportsbooks will soon be competing closely for the top spot in Indiana’s online market.

Horseshoe Hammond remains the largest retail player.

Horseshoe Hammond continues to be the leading location for in-person betting in the Hoosier State.

The casino receives a significant increase from out of state visitors every month due to its location right next to Chicago.

Last month, Horseshoe Hammond generated over $12 million in retail bets, marking the highest total in the state by a significant margin.

Hollywood Lawrenceburg took second place for February, raking in nearly $7 million. Similar to Horseshoe Hammond, its proximity to a major city, Cincinnati, significantly boosts its performance.

Ameristar East Chicago completes the top three for retail betting in Indiana in February.

Despite its online partnership with DraftKings enhancing the casino’s overall figures, Ameristar’s retail handle is solely generated from in-person bets at the casino. Nonetheless, Ameristar managed to rake in nearly $6 million from these in-person bets, which is a considerable sum.

Basketball will be the main focus in March.

The number will likely increase again in March, with the commencement of conference tournaments for college basketball and March Madness.

This will be the inaugural instance for Hoosiers to wager on the tournament since the legalization of sports betting, thus, it’s anticipated to be greatly popular.

In general, Indiana’s market is expected to continue expanding. The introduction of new sportsbooks will aid in this growth.

On March 5, PointsBet went online, becoming the sixth online sportsbook in the state.

The number of options for Indiana bettors increases with the increasing number of sportsbooks in the state.

As time progresses, that should persist in aiding the expansion of the sports betting market throughout the state.