Indiana Raises the Bar on Sports Betting Expectations in the US

Indiana is showing what is possible through the introduction of legal sports betting. Since 2019, the state has repeatedly shown increases in activity – with just a couple of drops since then – and continues to raise the bar. September was a doubly-good month for the state, as Indiana’s sportsbooks reported an increase in both handle and revenue.

Indiana Sports Betting On the Rise

It’s not uncommon for a state to see an increase in sports betting handle coinciding with a decrease in revenue – too many sharps will impact the bottom line. This has happened in Indiana a couple of times already, but not last month. According to the Indiana Gaming Commission’s (IGC) latest figures, the Hoosier State saw a record in both handle and revenue last month.

Indiana has already reported several strong performances this year, but September was the best. The sports handle was $355.4 million, beating last January’s record of $348.2 million. That was 71.3% better than what was reported a year ago and 64.8% better than what was received in August. With the NFL season getting started, it would be expected that the money flowing into sportsbooks would increase, and bettors also had a lot of MLB action to consider, as well.

Sportsbooks enjoyed a strong return, as well. The overall win rate was 9.53%, according to the IGC, and the hold was 17.37%. As a result, the taxable adjusted gaming revenue for the state was boosted to a total of $33.9 million, another new record for Indiana. The previous high mark was $29.3 million, which had been hit this past January. Compared to last September, the revenue was 137.2% better, and the month-over-month improvement was slightly more than 100%.

New Records Likely to Emerge

Although Indiana can be considered a veteran in the US sports betting industry, more growth is likely to come. This year alone, the state has seen a handle of more than $2.4 billion, making it one of the more productive sports betting states. The MLB season is almost a wrap, with bettors targeting the World Series, but the NFL is going to provide a lot of action. The NBA season is about to get underway, which will also draw a lot of attention, and the NHL just started its new season this week. The final quarter of the year has plenty of options for sports bettors.

While the handle has been more than impressive in the first nine months of the year, sportsbooks are secretly wishing bettors weren’t so good. Operator revenue over the period is just $204.9 million, according to the IGC. FanDuel led the way in September, collecting a little more than $10.6 million in revenue with a 13.75% win rate. BetMGM’s win rate came in second in terms of win rate with 12.2% and WynnBET saw 11.96%. Noticeably absent is DraftKings, which saw a win rate of just 3.6% on a handle of $81.84 million and revenue of $2.9 million.