Indiana Continues to See Record Betting Handles
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As experts believed that Indiana could take a dip in the October revenue report, Indiana surpassed expectations and saw the betting handle hit $230.9 million. This broke September’s record of $207.5 million and had over 150% increase from October 2019 when the state saw $91.7 million in bets.
Mobile betting brought in a majority of the handle, and the Hoosier State brought in $21.1 million in revenue. Even as the Illinois sports betting market expands, Indiana is still producing impressive numbers as the sports calendar gets deep into fall. The Hoosier State also collected over $2 million in taxes.
From September to October, seeing a 48% increase in betting revenue is nice to see for the state since September usually sees a heavier amount of sign-ups, which has more bonus money being used than real dollars. Indiana could capitalize on the revenue now that a lot of the bonus money has been used.
Indiana by the Numbers
Indiana saw increased across the board with the state’s betting handle, revenue, and taxes. When breaking down by sport, Indiana can thank football for being the driver in the betting handle.
The state saw football betting hit $84.7 million in October, which was higher than basketball ($10.8 million) and baseball ($26.6 million). Football even had a higher handle than parlays ($61.1 million), and that has historically been the highest category when broken down.
With two months left in the year, there is a chance that Indiana could pass the $1 billion handle mark. Through October, the Hoosier State has a $673.4 betting handle and needs to hit $163.5 million in both November and December to pass the market. Even during a pandemic, that still feels possible.
The October numbers are even more impressive, considering Illinois finally got sports betting off the ground this year. In August, Illinois had a betting handle of over $140 million, which should continue to increase as September and October numbers come in.
This shows that local bettors are still a huge driver in the sports betting market and that Indiana does not need Illinois to help hit back to back record months.
The use of mobile betting is also helping the Hoosier State. 83.5% ($190 million) came in on mobile devices compared to the 16.5% wagered in sportsbooks ($40.9 million). With the pandemic still in full effect, Indiana sportsbooks and casinos are operating at limited capacity, giving a huge boost to online sports betting.
Can Indiana Continue the Success?
The Hoosier State continues to impress with its betting handle and should continue to do so in November. Football is dominating the Indiana market and should continue to do so in the coming months. The Indiana numbers also show that the state does not need Illinois bettors to help boost its betting handle and has enough demand from local bettors to continue to hit impressive numbers.
November will be the first month of football, only betting. The state benefitted from $37.3 million in baseball and basketball bets in October due to the NBA Finals and MLB Playoffs. However, Indiana will also have a full month of Big Ten and Notre Dame football to capitalize on along with the NFL in the heart of its season.
The Master’s should also help in November, so there should be no surprise if Indiana sports betting hits the $200 million betting handle mark in November.
