Sports betting in the Hoosier State has been on the rise since summer reaching all-time highs in November. The trend is expected to continue during the holiday season as an increasing number of players are joining the newly legalized activity.
Sports betting in Indiana has continued generating profits despite the complex economic environment due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The state’s monthly revenue report shows that November’s handle has increased by 8.86% to $251,403,994 compared to October when it was $230,932,25. Both months reported record figures.
As of November 15, Indiana casinos adopted additional measures to curb the spread of the virus, as cases were rapidly increasing again. The measures were enforced through a Governor’s Executive Order and included reserved spaces for eating, drinking, and smoking, as well as social distancing limitations, among others.
State wide handle by type of sport corresponded to football with $113,482,907 at the top of the list, followed by basketball with $17,656,869 and baseball with $393,585.
Ameristar Casino generated a revenue of $103,687,824 and was the leader for the month, followed by Blue Chip Casino with $65,953,899. Both operators accounted for more than half of the revenue for the month, while Majestic Star did not report any profit for the month.
Expectations are that the growth will continue given the forthcoming holidays December and the fact that in states, where sports betting is recently legalized, there are more and more bettors every month till the activity reaches a stable level.
Indiana legalized wagering in early 2019 and as of September, thirteen locations – casinos and off-track betting facilities – across the state were authorized to take sports bets.
In October 2019, sports betting was also launched online. DraftKings and BetRivers were the first ones to go online in fall 2019, followed by BetMGM, Caesars, and PointsBet in spring 2020. Currently, players can place a bet on almost any sport and the number of sportsbook options where one can bet online is growing rapidly.
At the end of October, William Hill launched a sports betting app in the state. The William Hill mobile app supports biometric login and remote registration to Indiana players. Yesterday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker extended the remote sports betting registration period for the sixth time in a row due to the extraordinary situation caused by Covid-19. Executive Order 2020-41 that allows remote registration was issued again on Friday and will be valid until at least January 9.
