New Record: IN Sports Betting Hits $500 Million In January Wagers

The year began with Indiana setting a new record for sports betting. During January, Hoosiers placed over $500 million in bets on sports.

November 2021 previously held the record with a $463 million handle. In Indiana’s market, records have been set in four of the past five months.

Last month, the NFL playoffs took center stage, sparking over $118 million in football bets due to the postseason excitement.

Sports betting handle in Indiana for January 2022

Unsurprisingly, the majority of bets in January were placed online. DraftKings was at the forefront, with nearly $160 million in bets.

Licensee	Online Brand(s)	Handle	Revenue	Hold	Taxes
Ameristar East Chicago	DraftKings | theScore Bet	$168,896,381	$10,326,694	6.1%	$1,060,673
Blue Chip	FanDuel	$127,247,298	$7,704,395	6.1%	$1,158,221
Harrah’s Hoosier Park	Caesars	$56,357,127	$1,711,738	3.0%	$162,615
Belterra	BetMGM | Betway	$55,466,512	$5,055,095	9.1%	$474,224
Hollywood Lawrenceburg	PointsBet | Barstool	$48,079,629	$1,123,184	2.3%	$181,759
French Lick	BetRivers	$17,510,095	$833,918	4.8%	$87,480
Horseshoe Hammond	Unibet	$7,673,010	$591,928	7.7%	$58,798
Rising Star	WynnBet | TwinSpires	$5,213,115	$382,324	7.3%	$37,034
Winners Circle Clarksville		$4,156,651	$515,296	12.4%	$56,646
Caesars Southern Indiana		$3,520,145	$515,381	14.6%	$52,020
Winners Circle Indianapolis		$1,966,030	$86,874	4.4%	$8,253
Bally’s Evansville	Bally Bet	$1,888,699	$139,670	7.4%	$14,110
Indiana Grand		$1,105,913	$190,136	17.2%	$18,063
Winners Circle New Haven		$1,058,043	$101,543	9.6%	$9,666
Total		$500,138,648	$29,278,177	5.9%	$3,379,560

The year begins strongly for sportsbooks.

Indiana sports betting started strong in 2022, with January’s handle showing a promising start.

The bets worth $500 million resulted in more than $3.3 million in taxes for Indiana, and generated revenue of $29.3 million for the sportsbooks.

Those figures were sufficiently substantial to propel Indiana past the threshold for two notable milestones.

Primarily, Indiana saw a significant handle in January. It was the first instance where gamblers in Indiana wagered $500 million in a single month.

Indiana, also known as the Hoosier State, has surpassed the half-billion-dollar mark in sports betting revenue for their lifetime. This means that the state’s gambling enterprises are raking in significant profits.

Betting on sports in January was led by football and basketball.

Football is the most favored sport for betting across the US, but in Indiana, the state’s market is uniquely driven by their passion for basketball.

Basketball was the top choice for sports betting in January, but football significantly contributed to the success of Indiana’s sportsbooks.

After all, the NFL playoffs are an annual event. Even with the absence of the Indianapolis Colts, gamblers were keen to place their bets on the games.

Here’s a brief summary of what Hoosiers wagered on in the previous month:

• Football: $118.3 million
• Basketball: $192.4 million
• Baseball: $24,000
• Parlay: $122.6 million
• Other: $65 million

Betting on the Super Bowl will boost February’s figures.

The Super Bowl is set to be the main catalyst for boosting numbers in Indiana’s sports betting market in February, as we look towards what the future holds.

The big game represents the year’s most significant single sports betting event. Numerous Hoosiers across the state will be placing bets on the action.

Indiana does not disclose exact figures for individual events, however, we can still estimate the popularity of Super Bowl betting in Indiana last year.

In February 2021, Hoosiers placed bets amounting to $18.7 million on football. Given that the Super Bowl was the sole football event of that month, it can be inferred that most of these bets were placed on this major game.

Nonetheless, the market in Indiana has seen significant growth since last year. Consequently, the 2022 Super Bowl could potentially draw in an increased number of bets.

The latest figures show a 44% increase in Indiana’s sports betting handle from the same period last year, with the 2021 January handle only amounting to $347 million.

The increase in general sports betting among Hoosiers is likely to result in a rise in Super Bowl betting as well.

January is likely to be the last month of strong numbers until the NFL returns next fall. Basketball finds it challenging to bear the burden alone during the football offseason.