The Indiana sports betting market breaks new records this September in terms of both handle and revenue. Year on year, the number of bets bookies have taken has increased by 71%. This continual upward trend is great for Indiana, but with a successful month for many other states, its position in the top five sports betting markets in the United States in terms of handle is threatened.
Record-Breaking Handle and Revenue for Indiana Sportsbooks
The figures released by the Indiana Gaming Commission show that the sportsbooks in the state took $355.4 million worth of bets in September. This is up 71.3% year on year from last September’s figures and 65% up month on month from August’s $215 million. It also overtakes January 2021’s $348 million handle, the previous best month for Indiana.
With a 9.5% win rate overall by sportsbooks and a hold of 17.37%, sports betting revenue in Indiana this September was at $33.9 million. This is another all-time high, breaking January’s previous record of $29.3 million. Revenue also doubled when compared to August 2021’s figures and increased by 137% when compared to September last year. This new record translates to $3.2 million worth of taxes for the state, the first time the state has received over $3 million in a single month since Indiana’s sports betting launch in September 2019.
DraftKings Sportsbook Dominates the Market
The majority of all wagers placed by Hoosiers in September were placed online at the best Indiana betting sites bookies overview. DraftKings Sportsbook leads the way, bringing in $133 million in online handle and accounting for 40.7% of the market share. They are followed by main rival FanDuel who took $77 million in bets for the month, claiming 24.1% of the market. These two leaders have always been the most popular operators in the state, but the gap between the two is quickly becoming more substantial. Still, despite DraftKings leading the market, FanDuel is consistently making more money each month.
According to the September report, the handle of these two industry leaders is followed by BetMGM (11.6%), Caesars Sportsbook (9.6%), and Penn National’s Barstool Sportsbook (5%). The gain Caesar’s is making on BetMGM is noteworthy; the latter has routinely claimed the third position in terms of market share but Caesars is threatening its spot. Between August and September, BetMGM’s handle increased by 41% yet Caesars made a huge 82% gain on the previous month’s figures.
Football Leads Indiana Sports Bets
In terms of sports, it was the return of the NFL season that is responsible for Indiana’s success. This should come as no surprise as it is the most popular sport in Indiana. The state’s sportsbooks took over $148.5 million on football wagers, accounting for 41% of all wagers placed that month. This figure is up by a staggering 107% from August’s $13.8 million worth of football bets. The full return of the NFL was the main driving force but helped further along by partnerships between sportsbook operators and football teams.
Football may be at the top of the charts, but baseball is still holding some ground. The sport took $52.8 million in handle for the month of September. As the MLB calendar is starting to fill up, this figure could hold steady within the next few months. The other betting categories which took precedence were basketball ($5.2 million), parlays ($91.9 million), and other ($52.2 million).
Indiana Loses Place in Top 5 Leading Markets
Despite Indiana’s most successful month ever and a 71% increase year on year, other US states with regulated sports betting industries are seeing similar success. The top three states for online sports betting are currently New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. For the month of September, these three top players took $1.01 billion, $578 million, and $566 million in handle, respectively. The Hoosier State still has a long way to go before catching up with the likes of these three leaders.
Behind in fourth place is Colorado which took $408 million worth of bets in September. In August, Indiana then followed as the fifth biggest market. However, Indiana’s record-breaking $355 million in handle wasn’t enough for it to maintain this position. Michigan narrowly eclipsed this figure with their own new all-time high of $367 million in handle.
Not all states are seeing as much success. West Virginia sportsbooks saw a 21.9% decline from September 2020. Oregon too saw a drop of 4.2% year on year. Still, the September figures from all regulated US industries mean the total reported handle since US sports betting launched in June 2018 has now surpassed $70 billion.
